Kerala CM writes to Modi, urges repeal of cattle slaughter rules

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the central government to repeal the new restrictions against cattle slaughter, terming it an intrusion into the rights of states.

"I request you to kindly intervene in this matter and repeal the newly-imposed restrictions, so that the lives and livelihoods of millions of our fellow countrymen can be protected, while safeguarding the fundamental principles of our Constitution," Vijayan said in his two-page letter to Modi .

He also pointed out that in Kerala, vast majority of the population consumes meat, as well as in all other South Indian and northeast Indian states.

"Even in states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal, non vegetarians out number vegetarians.

He said the new rules should have been introduced in consultation with the states.

"The absence of efforts to take the states into confidence on such a drastic move with far reaching consequences is detrimental to our democracy. I am afraid it amounts to an intrusion into the rights of the states in our federal structure. The introduction of such restrictions in a hasty manner would certainly prove to be a challenge in upholding our plurality, the essence of our nation. It would also be against the principles of secularism and federalism enshrined in our constitution," added Vijayan.

On Friday, the Union Environment Ministry modified the animal cruelty rules, making it mandatory to ensure that cattle are not bought or sold with a purpose of slaughtering.