From Sandeep Sharma
GUWAHATI: Putting an end to all speculations, the Assam Legislative Assembly on Friday passed the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 to regulate slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle, even as the Opposition Congress, AIUDF and CPI (M) members staged a walkout in protest against the government’s refusal to forward the legislation to a select committee on the last day of the budget session.
The Bill was introduced in the House on July 12.
If enacted, the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950, which chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said lacked sufficient legal provisions to “regulate slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle”, will be repealed.
Many states which have their own anti-slaughter laws, do not exclude specific areas — like what Assam proposes — to sell or buy beef and beef products.
“Provided that the State government may exempt certain places of worship or certain occasions for the slaughter of cattle other than calf, heifer and cow for religious purpose… No person shall transport or offer for transport or cause to be transported any cattle without a valid permit from any place of another State through Assam to any place outside the State of Assam, any place within the State of Assam to any place outside the State of Assam where the slaughter of cattle is not regulated by law,” the Bill said.
The new law, when enacted, will prohibit a person from slaughtering cattle unless he has obtained the necessary certificate issued by the registered veterinary officer of a particular area.
According to the bill, the veterinary officer will issue a certificate only if he is of the opinion that the bovine, not being a cow, is over 14 years of age.
A cow, heifer or calf may be slaughtered only if it is permanently incapacitated, it said.
Also, just duly licensed or recognised slaughter houses will be allowed to butcher cattle, the bill maintained.
The new legislation will check transport of bovines within the state or outside, if valid documents are not made available to the authorities.
There will, however, be no restriction on ferrying cattle for agricultural purposes within a district.
One does not need to take permission for transporting cattle to and from registered animal markets for the purpose of sale and purchase within a district.
All offences under this new legislation shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
Anybody found guilty shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years or fine that may vary between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh or both. If someone convicted under the new law is found guilty of the same or a related offence the second time, the punishment will be doubled.
The legislation shall extend to the whole of Assam and the term ‘cattle’ shall apply to bulls, bullocks, cows, heifers, calves.
Members of the ruling BJP shouted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and thumped desks as soon as speaker Biswajit Daimary announced the bill as passed.
Independent legislator Akhil Gogoi had walked out of the House when the bill was taken up for consideration.
During his reply on a discussion on the bill, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rejected the proposal of the Opposition MLAs to refer the bill to a select committee for vetting.
The chief minister, in his response, said the bill has no bad intention and claimed it will strengthen communal harmony.
The bill doesn’t intend to stop anyone from consuming beef, but the person who eats so must also respect the religious sentiments of others, Sarma said.
“It can’t be that only Hindus are responsible for maintaining communal harmony, Muslims must also reciprocate,” Sarma said.
On objection to a clause in the bill that prohibits cow slaughter within a 5-km radius of temples or sattras, the chief minister claimed that there are “kilometres and kilometres of area with no temples, and 70,000-80,000 habitations in the state have no Hindus at all”.
Sarma, however, accepted an amendment moved by AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam to remove ‘buffaloes’ from the definition in the bill.
Reacting to the nill, leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said there are a lot of problematic areas in the bill and they are getting it examined by legal experts. “For example, the 5 km rule about beef. A stone can be laid and a ‘temple’ can be ‘built’ anywhere by anyone — so it becomes very ambiguous. This may lead to a lot of communal tension,” he said.
The opposition had suggested at least 75 changes to the new bill, demanding that it be handed over to a select committee of the House.
Member of the opposition parties, including CPI-M MLA Manoranjan Talukdar pointed out that the bill will bring down the state’s economy.
“According to statistics, there are 19.327 crore cows in Assam. Cows are not endangered animals. Why are laws being sought for conservation?” All India United Democratic Front legislator Aminul Islam said.
The matter, he alleged, has been looked at by the government only from a religious perspective.
Assam is at the heart of a cow-smuggling nexus in which. The animal is often transported to Bangladesh through the state’s porous borders in Karimganj in the south and Dhubri and South Salmara in the west. Some smugglers also use the Meghalaya and West Bengal routes to take the animals to the neighbouring country.
