Mumbai, 13 August

Ruling allies BJP and NCP spoke in different voices after nearly half a dozen civic bodies in Maharashtra ordered closure of meat shops and abattoirs on Independence Day, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the government was not interested in policing people’s food choices.

Municipal corporations in Nagpur, Nashik, Malegaon, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Kalyan-Dombivli have issued orders directing closure of slaughterhouses and meat shops within their jurisdiction on 15 August. Some of them have said these facilities will remain shut on certain other days, too, in view of Hindu and Jain festivals.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar questioned the closure, while its ally in the ruling Mahayuti coalition, BJP, defended the move, citing a 1988 state government resolution (GR) empowering civic bodies to impose such restrictions.

Opposition parties have also criticised the move.

The BJP said the policy to keep abattoirs shut on Independence Day was first implemented in 1988 when NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar was the chief minister of Maharashtra, and sought to know if the opposition would question the veteran politician about it.

Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye posed this question to opposition NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray who have also opposed the closure.

Upadhye said the policy to keep abattoirs shut on 15 August was originally framed by the Congress government then led by Shankarrao Chavan.

"Within a month in 1988, Sharad Pawar became the chief minister and implemented the policy for the first time," he said.

During the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government (November 2019-June 2022), in which both Awhad and Thackeray were ministers, the same practice continued without any protest from them, the BJP member claimed.

"Will they seek a response from Sharad Pawar for taking such a decision back then? Will they criticise him too? Awhad and Thackeray should respond to it now," Upadhye said.

"Both (Awhad and Thackeray) have lost their (original) parties and government. Therefore, they are depressed and find fault with any decision to target the state government," he opined.

Chief Minister Fadnavis asserted the state government was not interested in regulating people’s food choices and described the row over abattoir closures on Independence Day as an "unnecessary" controversy.

Asked about some municipal corporations ordering closure of abattoir on 15 August, the CM, "The state never took such a decision. A GR was issued in August 1988. Municipal corporations take such decisions (ordering closure of slaughterhouses) on their own. Even I was not aware of such a GR existing for such a long period."

"I also learned about it (GR) through the media. Similar decisions were taken when (Shiv Sena UBT leader) Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister of Maharashtra (November 2019-June 22)," he opined.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Tuesday expressed displeasure over some civic bodies ordering the closure of slaughterhouses and shops selling meat on 15 August, saying it was wrong to impose such a ban.

Such types of restrictions are generally imposed considering faith-related sensitivities on occasions like Ashadhi Ekadashi, Mahashivratri, Mahavir Jayanti, Ajit Pawar said.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation has announced the closure of slaughterhouses, and shops selling meat within city limits on two days – 15 and 20 August. It stated the closure was ordered on 15 August on the occasion of Gokul Ashtami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, and 20 August, which marks the beginning of 'Paryushan Parva' - a key festival of the Jain community characterised by fasting and prayers.

Aaditya Thackeray earlier said the Kalyan-Dombivli civic commissioner should be suspended as it was not for him to dictate people's dietary choices.

The Congress claimed the Mahayuti government was creating controversies on "nonsensical" issues such as pigeon-feeding in cities and banning sale of meat on Independence Day to divert attention from serious issues.

The BJP was stoking caste-based and communal tensions as part of its political strategy, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged.

"The Maharashtra government should not tell us what time we should eat meat, what spices or salt should we use; it should not try to control our personal habits, marriages, or our thinking process. Such things have no place in our state, but this government is deliberately doing it," Sapkal said.