Beef part of food habit in Goa, won’t ban it: Laxmikant Parsekar

‘As the CM, I have to take care of all people in the state including its 38 per cent minorities.’

Although BJP governments in Maharashtra and Haryana have clamped down on sale of beef, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Friday said the state will never ban beef as it does not believe in interfering with the food habits of its people.

Parsekar told The Indian Express, “As the CM, I have to take care of all people in the state including its 38 per cent minorities. Christians account for 30 per cent of the population while the remaining are from the Muslim community. It is not like they started consuming beef recently; this has always been part of their daily cuisine. How can I ban it?”

On the issue of his counterparts Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana recently tightening laws to ban slaughter of cattle, Parsekar said, “Each state might have its own opinion on the issue. I cannot comment on that but as the CM of Goa, I can state that Goa will never ban beef.”

What is significant about his stance, coming as it does in the wake of recent developments in other two BJP-ruled states but also in the light of the fact that Goa, which allows all kinds of cattle slaughter except for cow, has had a troubled couple of years on the issue due to pressure from right-wing groups. The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court is currently hearing a petition, filed by the NGO Govansh Raksha Abhiyaan in 2013, for a total ban on cattle slaughter.

“The motive of the fringe elements protesting the cattle slaughter is to end beef eating in Goa. There have been increasing complaints from traders about these groups intercepting their vehicles transporting livestock, beating up their drivers and letting the cattle loose,” said GMC chairman Lyndon Monteiro. Parsekar said beef traders facing harassment can approach the government for protection.

Source:: Indian Express