Mumbai: It seems Fadnavis-led government is working on making Maharashtra a vegetarian state. While meat lovers in the state are still coming to terms with the beef ban, the Maha government may extend the ban to mutton as well.
The government on Monday told the Bombay high court that the beef ban law may just be the beginning, and indicated that the ban on the slaughter of other animals may follow.
The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government why the ban was limited only to cows and bulls and why the ban didn’t include animals like goat.
A division bench of justices V M Kanade and A R Joshi was hearing petitions challenging a provision under Section 5 (d) of the recently amended Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act which bans possession and consumption of meat of animals like cows and bulls.
Advocate General Sunil Manohar said: “This is just the start. We may consider banning slaughter of other animals too. As of now the state felt it was necessary to protect cow, bulls and bullocks.”
The court also suggested that the government have a licence policy by which import of meat of cattle slaughtered outside the state can be permitted.
The ban imposed last month was criticised by many including politicians who said that the government was indulging in communal politics.
Meanwhile, the beef ban has resulted in a 10% increase in mutton prices. People are even ready to pay Rs 440 for a kg of mutton today.