Cattle ban: TN CM to comment later, Oppn demands withdrawal

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today said he will comment on the Centre's ban on cattle sale after going through the notification in this regard.

Opposition parties, however, condemned the move and demanded that the Centre withdraw the notification banning sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across the country.

After inaugurating the 'summer fest and flower show at the hill station of Yercaud, the chief minister said full information pertaining to the ban was yet to be received and he could not react based on media reports.

"I can reply only after fully studying it (notification)," Palaniswami said.

On the other hand DMK working president M K Stalin condemned the move and urged the Centre to withdraw the ban to protect the country's pluralism.

The centre should not curtail the freedom of choice in respect of food, he said.

In a statement, he said the BJP-led Centre should refrain from shaking the basic tenet of secularism enshrined in the Constitution.

The leader of the opposition in the assembly said the move was a bid to change the secular face of the country and deprive minorities, farmers and poor farmers of their rights.

Blaming the centre for "snatching" the rights of states on subjects listed under state and concurrent lists, he said the centre was doing it on matters beginning with 'Jallikattu' (taming of the bull) issue to the present cattle ban.

Cattle was on state list and prevention of cruelty to animals was on concurrent list, he said.

"Since they (Centre) cannot claim any achievements, they have brought new rules to hide it," he told reporters at Chennai.

PMK chief S Ramadoss too wanted the centre to withdraw the notification and dubbed the curbs as a "wrong decision" taken with a "narrow intention" and without understanding "reality."

"This is an action which interferes in the food rights of a section of people and will affect the natural equilibrium," he said.

Hitting out at the BJP for "doing cattle politics, CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan said the move would cause "very severe loss to the farmers," and lead to social unrest.

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said his party would stage protests against the "anti-people move of the Modi regime."

The Centre has banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter and prohibited practices which are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)