LS
adopts resolution against cow slaughter
The Hindu
10 April, 2003
NEW DELHI: The
Lok Sabha today adopted by voice vote a private member's resolution
moved by a BJP member, asking the Centre to enact a law banning cow
slaughter. The move, however, met with stiff resistance from the Opposition
parties, which walked out in protest.
Hours of wrangling
and heated exchanges preceded the adoption of the resolution moved by
Prahlad Singh Patel. The Opposition argued that Parliament did not have
the legislative competence to take up the issue as it fell within the
purview of the State List. Significantly, it was the BJP alone which
was pushing for the resolution. None of its NDA allies was present in
the House when it was taken up.
Later, outside
the House, some BJP MPs said that a bill to ban cow slaughter would
be brought up but since it would need an amendment to the Constitution
needing a two-thirds majority, it could only be done with Congress help.
Party leaders said that since the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay
Singh, had virtually challenged the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
to bring up such legislation, the BJP now had no option but to do so.
Ahead of the Assembly elections, it would also be seen as a good signal
to its hardline Hindutva supporters.
In the House,
Opposition members such as Shivraj Patil, Somnath Chattejee, Banatwala,
and Priyaranjan Das Munshi argued against the resolution saying that
since the matter was a State subject, Parliament was not competent to
adopt such a resolution. ``We cannot accept a resolution that is contrary
to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, nor can we give Parliament
that kind of authority,'' Mr. Patil said. It was also pointed out that
in his reply, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Hukum Deo Narain
Yadav, had admitted that the subject was part of the State List.
The Samajwadi
Party members, Ramjilal Suman and Akhilesh Singh, demanded that the
Government make clear its views even as they charged that the BJP had
misused the issue to create disturbances in the country and mislead
the people.
The BJP MP,
V.K. Malhotra, said ``the day we get a two-thirds majority, we will
bring this bill.''