Assam Congress MP Demands Ban on Sale of Pork within 500 m Radius of Mosques

GUWAHATI:

The recently proposed Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, of which Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is the biggest advocate, has drawn mixed responses from various leaders and people from both Assam as well as the rest of India. 

The bill which seeks to virtually ban beef in areas within 5 kms from any temple premises of non-beef eating communities, any leaders especially from the minority Muslim community have shown their dissatisfaction over the proposed bill. 

In reaction to the proposed bill, Abdul Khaleque, an Assam Congress MP from the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency, stated that the Assam government should also prohibit the sale of pork meat within a 500-meter radius of mosques, similar to the prohibition of the sale and consumption of beef within 500 meters from temple premises.  

"If the bill talks about respecting religious sentiments, then I would appreciate if it also bans slaughter of pigs and sale of pork 500 meters around mosques as pork is forbidden in Islam," Khaleque said. 

He went on to say that prohibiting the sale and slaughter of cattle within a five-kilometer radius of Hindu temples will effectively outlaw the selling and consumption of beef in most parts of the state. 

He further claimed that the new legislation will inadvertently aggravate communal tensions in the state. 

MP Abdul Khaleque had previously called for a ban on pork or pig meat. According to the Opposition MP, Lord Bishnu has incarnations such as matsya (fish), kumbha (turtle), and barah (pig), among others. As a result, Khaleque believes the government should implement a pork prohibition. 

"We all know that Hindus worship Lord Bishnu. The Assam government should ban eating of pork as the Lord Bishnu has also incarnated himself as fish, turtle and pig in different point of time," stated the Congress MP. 

As per the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, proposed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the sale of beef would be prohibited in areas dominated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and other non-beef-eating communities, or within a five-kilometer radius of any Hindu temple, satra (Vaishnavite monastery), or other religious institutions, or any other institution.  

In an interview with Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, the Assam CM also stated that even in areas where Muslims are in the majority and Hindus are in the minority, the sale and consumption of beef will be prohibited in order to respect the religious sentiments of the Hindu community, which reveres the cow as their mother. Only in the areas that are hundred percent Muslim dominated will the sale and consumption of beef be permitted. 

When Arnab Goswami inquired about the prohibition of pork in order to respect Muslims' religious sensibilities, the CM answered by saying that if a similar petition for the prohibition of pork is issued in the future, he will examine the matter.

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