Assam's BJP govt tables Bill to prohibit sale of beef in Hindu, Sikh, Jain areas

News Network
July 12, 2021

Guwahati, July 12: The BJP-led government in Assam on Monday tabled The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 in the state Assembly that seeks to prohibit the sale of beef in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and other non-beef eating communities.

It also seeks to disallow the sale of beef or beef products within a 5 km radius of temples, satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and other Hindu religious institutions.

In what could irk neighbouring states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, the bill proposes a prohibition on transportation of cattle from other states or to other states through Assam without permission.

The bill, tabled by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seeks to replace existing The Assam Cattle Preservation Act 1950 saying that the latter lacked stringent legal provisions to deal with the issues arising out of slaughter, consumption or transport of cattle. The bill was tabled on the first day of the first budget session of the Sarma government.

The 1950 Act allows the slaughter of cattle above 14 years of age with proper approval by a local veterinary officer. The new bill also retains the provision but allows the slaughter of cattle only in licenced or recognised slaughterhouses.

The new bill also seeks to enhance the quantum of punishment for violators of the new provisions to a jail term ranging between three and five years and a fine of Rs. 3 to 5 lakh or both. The 1950 Act has the penal provision of only six months jail and a fine of Rs. 1,000 only for the violators.

The new bill was approved by the state Cabinet on Thursday. Parliamentary affairs minister Piyush Hazarika on Thursday said the bill was prepared as per a promise of BJP ahead of Assembly elections held in March-April this year.

BJP and its allies formed their government in Assam for the second consecutive term. The saffron party replaced Sarbananda Sonowal with Himanta Biswa Sarma as the new Chief Minister, who has been waving the Hindutva flag more vigorously than Sonowal.

BJP ruled states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at present has similar cattle preservation act.

The new bill, however, says permission for transportation of cattle would be issued for bonafide agricultural or animal husbandry purposes only. No permission is also required for carrying cattle to and from registered agricultural markets for sale or purchase of the same within the district.

Although beef-eating Nagaland or Mizoram has not yet reacted to the proposed restriction for transportation of cattle through Assam, Meghalaya (also beef-eating) CM Conrad Sangma on Friday said the state would be compelled to seek the Centre's intervention in this regard. 

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 11,2024

Mangaluru: Six youths including teenagers have been arrested by the Bantwal Rural Police in connection with a brutal assault on 21-year-old Aboobakar (name changed to hide identity), an incident that was widely shared on social media after footage revealed the victim tied to a pole and violently beaten.

The arrested individuals, all from Kanchinadkapadavu, Sajipanadu village in Ullal Taluk, have been identified as Mohammad Sapwan (25), Mohammad Rizwan (25), Irfan (27), Anis Ahmad (19), Nasir (27), and Shakeer (18). According to police reports, the assault took place on November 7 in Kanchinadkapadavu.

The sequence of events began when Aboobakar was reportedly called to a residence in Kanchinadkapadavu by a female relative. Upon his arrival, he was confronted by the accused, who questioned his presence, tied him to a pole with ropes, and attacked him while he was shirtless. 

Aboobakar managed to file a police complaint the following day, detailing the assault. As his injuries worsened, he was admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru.

While in the hospital, Aboobakar alleged that his attackers intended to kill him during the assault. This statement led to additional charges of attempted murder being filed. 

Police officials stated that the suspects were subsequently apprehended, charged with group assault and attempted murder, and placed in judicial custody. The investigation is ongoing, and further details are awaited.

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News Network
November 11,2024

udupistatue.jpg

Udupi, Nov 11: The Karkala town police in Udupi have arrested Krishna Naik, the sculptor responsible for installing a 33-foot Parashurama statue at Umikkal Hill in Bailur, Karkala taluk. 

Naik, the owner of Krish Art World and a resident of Bengaluru's Visvesvaraya Layout, was apprehended in Mahe, part of the Union Territory of Puducherry, for allegedly substituting a look-alike statue in place of a genuine bronze figure at the Parashurama Theme Park in Karkala.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr. Arun K confirmed the arrest, stating that Naik faces charges under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code. 

This legal action followed a complaint lodged in June by Krishna Shetty, a resident of Nallur village, Karkala. Shetty claimed that Naik had received a payment of ₹1,25,50,000 from Udupi Nirmithi Kendra for the installation of a bronze Parashurama statue. However, Naik allegedly deceived the government by installing a replica instead.

The statue was unveiled on January 27, 2023, by then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has since ordered a CID investigation to probe deeper into the alleged fraud surrounding the statue's installation at the theme park.

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