TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: In a bid to woo affected sections, the Congress accused the government of failing to act in time to provide beef to consumers after the High Court ban, while the BJP shot back alleging that Congress was communalising the issue.
At a press conference held on Saturday, Congress MP Francisco Sardinha, who estimating that 60 per cent Goans consume beef as part of their diet argued that the government was doing injustice to the minorities and some members of the majority community as well. On the other hand the ruling BJP alleged that the Congress party used High Court order on temporary ban on slaughter to create a ‘communal divide’ in Goa. They accused Congress of painting the BJP as ‘villain’ and claimed that beef is not just consumed by minority communities but that there are large section of the majority community who are consumers too.
“Sixty percent Goans are beef consumers and the absence of beef in the present festive season…I can imagine the plight of eaters, caterers and hoteliers…all of them must be suffering,” Sardinha said accusing the government of sleeping over the issue.
The Congressman also cautioned that beef shortage will affect Goa tourism and added that Goa is not a beef or milk producing state for it is dependent on neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Dr Wilfred Mesquita at a press conference on Saturday promised that party and his government will do everything at its command to ensure that the people affected by High Court order get relief from the suffering at the shortest means of time.
“We will either approach Court or through some other legal means, will ensure that beef is made available to the people at the earliest,” he said, adding, “We would request Congress and its alliance partners (NCP) not to bring politics or communalism between the court order.”
The spokesman said that Congress, who till date has not been able to come out of the humiliating defeat it faced in the State Assembly polls last year, is busy making false propaganda against BJP by trying to portray it as ‘villain’.
The BJP leader said that Congress president and spokesman’s remarks that the Court order is basically to harass the minority section is in contempt of high court order.
Following High Court order, which has put ban on import of cattle for slaughtering along with directing the GMC not to touch the 131 animals housed in its premises, the state is facing acute shortage of beef, for the last two weeks.
Both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have blamed the BJP-led state government for the shortage and has accused BJP of “communal conspiracy” since they alleged that the petitioner was a member of the BJP
Castigating the former state Advocate General Subodh Kantak, who is currently appearing for the petitioner in High Court, BJP said that court has not been informed about several vital points of the Animal Protection act by the petitioner.
“He (kantak) was AG during Congress regime and he is well aware about the competent authority, who were appointed to perform the duties pertaining to the veterinary services in the Goa Meat complex. “He did not inform this to the Court,” he alleged.
Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza said that the High Court order to ban slaughtering at Goa Meat Complex is similar to Supreme Court order on mining, wherein state government and people were not heard before passing such a stringent order,
He said ‘slaughtering of cattle for purpose of meat is age old tradition, which cannot be banned with such sudden orders’.
