Days after two Meghalaya BJP leaders resigned over the Centre's notification regarding ban on the sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter, several chiefs of the party units in the Northeastern states have warned that the move could “harm” the saffron party’s image as a national party.
Chiefs of BJP units in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim spoke to The Indian Express ahead of party president Amit Shah’s visit to the Northeast.
According to them, new restrictions should not be implemented in their states.
According to data released by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2014, all eight Northeastern states except Tripura were among the top 10 most frequent consumers of beef or buffalo in the country. Meghalayans topped the list, with nearly 81% of them consuming beef or buffalo. The figure for Nagaland was 57%; Mizoram was 23%.
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“It is a matter of concern for people in Nagaland. Such decisions will create a feeling that the BJP is against the culture of Northeast,” said Visasolie Lhoungu, chief of the party in Nagaland, told The Indian Express.
Bachu Marak, BJP’s Meghalaya leader who recently resigned from the party Monday night, also slammed the Modi government for its “non-secular ideology”
"As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Marak said after resigning from the BJP…I resigned from the BJP as they are dishonouring my culture. This is an anti-Christian party," Marak was quoted by ANI.
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Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Das said the notification may have to be modified.
Arunachal Pradesh unit president Tapan Gao it’s not practical for the state to implement such rules. “In a democratic country, governments have to respect people’s sentiments,” he told the newspaper.
Gao’s comment comes ahead of Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh next week. The party is targeting to win most of the 24 Lok Sabha seats from these seven states in 2019.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance convener, asserted that its state governments have no intention to impose any dietary restriction on people.
"We are in power in Assam and people are eating beef there in day-to-day life. Where is the ban? There is no intention of the state government to impose any restriction.
"We have not done so in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur and we are in government in both states as well," he said.
