New Delhi: Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Welfare, has claimed that illegal animal slaughter is funding terrorism and bomb making.
‘Pink terror’ – money through trade of slaughtered animals funding terrorism – is killing us.
Why are we allowing this?†she said, adding, “India is killing more animals than even China. “Slaughter of milking animals is a trade of Indians. Milking animals are being slaughtered and illegally traded to Bangladesh and the Middle East. It is no longer about religion but money.â€
The minister attempted to play down the ‘communal angle, saying, “A slaughterer could be a Muslim but the transporter and the owners of the cows are often Hindus and non-Muslims. So it is not about religion but about trade and greed for money,” she said.
A long-time animal rights activist, she was speaking at the India for Animals conference where she said that the inference had been drawn from a report submitted to the Uttar Pradesh Police four years ago.
She also pointed out that India was illegally exporting beef to Bangladesh and the neighbouring country claimed to be exporting about 160,000 tonnes of beef. “But as a matter of fact, they (Bangladesh) do not own a single cow.”
The Minister called on NGOs, volunteers and civil society to join the ‘save animals movement’ and urged them to set up informer systems to sound an alarm to prevent such trade.
While the minister’s statement isn’t entirely surprising given her strong stance on animal rights’ issues, the sudden interest in beef export is bound to spark speculation. The issue has been a crucial one for the BJP, one that Modi had announced he would tackle if he came to power.
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