Enjoying a good steak on a Sunday afternoon has become expensive and tedious now for the people of Maharashtra. Beef lovers will have to travel often to Goa and other states to enjoy a good steak since beef has been banned in the state. Now, anyone found to be selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined Rs 10,000.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995, nearly 19 years after the Maharashtra Assembly passed the Bill during the BJP-Shiv Sena rule in 1995. The slaughter of cows was previously prohibited in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976. However, the passage of the new Act will ban the slaughter of bulls as well as bullocks, which was previously allowed based on a fit-for-slaughter certificate.
Earlier Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted the news which is being termed as a historic step by his party for both its cultural as well as economic implications for the state.
Thanks a lot Hon President Sir for the assent on MaharashtraAnimalPreservationBill.Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) March 2, 2022
Beef traders across Maharashtra who were on strike for over a week in February to protest against the alleged harassment being meted out to beef traders, are protesting against this move. “Apart from rendering people jobless, the immediate effect will be the spiralling price of other meats as people will be forced to gravitate to them,” president of the Mumbai Suburban Beef Dealer Association Mohammed Qureshi said.
Beef traders are also thinking of a legal recourse. “We are now holding deliberations to see if we can challenge this in any way. The beef traders have been impacted but it will be the farmers who will be affected the most. Who will care for the old and infirm animals that were earlier sold for meat?” Arif Chowdhury, an office bearer of the All India Jamiatul Quresh, an organisation of beef traders, said.
Interestingly the latest beef ban news comes after a recent assurance from the CM to the beef traders who have been regularly harassed by the Right-wing groups and Jain organisations stated - “The rule of law will be followed and no one will be allowed to harass traders in the state.”
Twitter has been quick to react on this new regulation. From mocking the ban to highlighting on how serious has this government been in highlighting such an issue while overlooking other grave concerns of the state, #BeefBan tweets reflect public response.
Listed below are 20 such tweets on the #BeefBan
is the censor board also censoring beef on film now? will it be called *beep*?
— Rosie Roti (@supriyan) March 3, 2022
Sad to see this beef ban bring out the hatred towards Lauki Tinda and Kaddu. All vegetables are beautiful guys. Stop this hatred.
— Dorkstar (@Dorkstar) March 3, 2022
Beef ban is not any attack on your freedom to eat anything you want. It just puts some “reasonable restrictions” on you culinary habits.
— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) March 3, 2022
Many restaurants display “We serve only halal meat. We don’t serve pork.” but nothing for beef. If Hindus don’t care, why should the state?
— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) March 3, 2022
In a one stroke @Dev_Fadnavis has opened up a black market economy… Also, who are you to tell me what I can or cannot eat? #Beef
— Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) March 3, 2022
To those who say “I’m Hindu, this is my country, we’re in the majority, why can’t we ban beef?” https://t.co/z55yvQuGg2
— Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy) March 3, 2022
Thank god they banned beef. What a threat to the state THAT was.
— Funtée Mittal (@awryaditi) March 3, 2022
Beef ban in Maharashtra is not only anti those who eat beef but anti the leather workers community too.
— Tushar A. Gandhi (@TusharG) March 3, 2022
Beef only banned in Maharashtra. Which means we can go to Gujarat to eat beef while Gujjus can come here to drink alcohol. Seems fair
— Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) March 3, 2022
Now instead of buying beef, people in Maharashtra would be ‘scoring’ beef 🙂
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) March 3, 2022
Why stop at Beef #DevendraFadnavis? Ban Chicken, Pork, Mutton, Fish & Vegetables… Coz Vegetables have feelings too you know!
— Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) March 3, 2022
Beef, you come today, it’s a felony. Beef, you come tomorrow, it’s to jail. You pick the crime. Pick pick pick pick pick pick…
— Vikas Munipalle (@PabloVikasso) March 3, 2022
I don’t think you should stop at banning beef, Maharashtra. I think you should actually let cows run the state.
— samit basu (@samitbasu) March 3, 2022
Devendra Fadnavis’ hypocrisy. Feb 11: “Will protect beef traders” http://t.co/Lv0thMKFNh | March 2: Beef trade banned http://t.co/oSUNgNBIAT
— Sachin Kalbag (@SachinKalbag) March 3, 2022
Even talking about beef should be banned. Saying ‘Security been beefed up’ should get Jail sentence *Surrenders to police for saying beef*
— Joy (@Joydas) March 3, 2022
In Maharashtra, all chicken, goats and sheep are currently thinking - Why do gais have all the fun? #BeefBan
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) March 3, 2022
We want to protect the cow but we can live with female feoticide. Confused even in our gender discrimination #BeefBan
— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) March 3, 2022
Abandoned cows and bulls in India however continue to have the right to wander around eating plastic packets from garbage dumps. #Beefban
— ranjona banerji (@ranjona) March 3, 2022
Today Govt is telling you what not to eat, tomorrow they will tell you what not to drink. #BeefBan is an attack on civil rights.
— Amit Mehra (@amitmehra) March 3, 2022
@Dev_Fadnavis @PMOIndia We did not elect you to criminalise people’s food preferences. #BeefBan #Maharashtra #Intolerance
— Niket Khaitan (@niketk) March 3, 2022
RIP beef in Maharashtra!
