Pinarayi writes to Yogi Adityanath to oppose cattle slaughter ban

On Monday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to all CMs of states including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, calling for their support in opposing the Gazette Notification of the central government imposing restrictions on cattle trade. This came two days after CM Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the people of his state were outraged by the notification, as was evident after the Youth Congress of the state held beef festivals across the state in protest against the notification.  

Vijayan said that such restrictions would have “serious repercussions on the livelihoods of millions of people, especially those in the agricultural sector”. He added that the rule was an outright violation of the basic right to carry on one’s trade and exercise freedom of choice regarding food, and deemed it unconstitutional. Outraged by the lack of debate and discussion around the matter with States and elected representatives, he said that the move was an “encroachment into the domain of the State Legislatures”.

Calling the move “anti-federal, anti-democratic and anti-secular” he said that this could be the “beginning of a series of similar measures aimed at destroying the federal democratic fabric and secular culture of our country” and sought Adityanath’s support in opposing this move which may have “disastrous consequences” on the agricultural economy. It was rather surprising to see Vijayan seeking the support of Adityanath who he had once called a “symbol of communal violence, riots, intolerance and hatred” when he was sworn-in as the UP CM.