JDS Demands Withholding of Assent to K'taka Cow Slaughter Bill

New Delhi, Aug 5, (PTI): Terming as "unconstitutional" a controversial bill passed by the Karnataka Assembly banning slaughter of cattle, JD(S) today demanded withholding of presidential assent to the legislation. 
 
The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010 passed recently, imposes a total ban on slaughter of cattle in the BJP-ruled state and prescribes stringent punishment for violation. It also makes the offence cognisable and non-bailable.

Decrying the legislation, JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said the bill has imposed unnecessary and unwarranted prohibition on the exercise of a fundamental right of a particular section of a society to carry on a occupation, trade or business.

"The new legislation has thrown the constitution to the dustbin. It is not only anti-minority, anti-social, anti-dalit but also an assault and encroachment on the food habits of a considerable section of the population," he told reporters after submitting a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil.

Gowda along with 42 MLAs urged the President to consider whether it is reasonable and justifiable to give assent to the legislation in the larger interest of the state and the nation. The present bill replaces the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter of Cattle Preservation Act, 1964. Gowda said the Act had stood the test of time for more than 56 years and has been accepted as a model one across the country.

He said the present legislation, if becomes a law, will not only render a large section of population unemployed but also force the state's farming community into further penury.

Earlier, he claimed that even before the legislation got the presidential approval, the state was trying to implement the law by arresting those engaged in the trade in Tumkur and Chikmagalur areas.