PM agrees Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill bad law: Gowda

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agrees with the view that the newly passed Karnataka Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill is a bad law, former PM H. D. Deve Gowda said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agrees with the view that the newly passed Karnataka Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill is a bad law, former PM H. D. Deve Gowda said.

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Gowda said he told the PM during his 45-minute meeting on Tuesday that if the governor gives a nod to the bill, then beef will disappear from Karnataka. “It would mean people can’t procure from outside and store it in their homes either.”

Gowda said, “...If the bill becomes a law, it will affect eating habits of many communities.”

The BJP government has defended its move, saying the SC in its judgment in October 2005 upheld the ban on slaughter of cow progeny imposed by section 2 of the Bombay Animal Preservation (Gujarat Amendment) Act 1994.

The controversial Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010, was passed in the legislative council last week amidst protests by the opposition.

Under the bill, for slaughtering cattle — imprisonment of one year to seven years, with or without a fine ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.