In the backdrop of strong demands for blanket ban on cow slaughtering from many Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Sunday said that money through illegal trade of slaughtered ‘milking animals’ goes into terrorism.
“India killing more animals than China,Milking animals being slaughtered & illegally traded to Bangladesh & Middle-East,” Gandhi told reporters.
Asserting that it was not a “political or religious issue”, but an economic one, former Union Minister and People for Animals (PFA) Chairperson Maneka Gandhi today said, “It (killing of milking animals) is a trade of Indians, It no longer about religion, but money.”
Further questioning the final outcome of cow slaughtering in the country, she said, “Money through trade of slaughtered animals goes into terrorism, therefore goes into killing us, why are we allowing this?”
Bangladesh exported one lakh tonnes of Beef without rearing any “cow”, she said, adding it also did not import them. “The entire trafficking is done illegally through the porous borders”, she said.
However, according to reports, BJP-led NDA government is unlikely to go for a country-wide ban on cow slaughtering.
According to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, the government would prefer “effective” protection for cows, instead of imposing a ban on killing them, a leading newspaper said.
“If your mother is in danger, instead of asking the attackers not to kill her, it is always good to protect her effectively and properly. The ministry has a series of programmes for it,” the minister added.
Earlier, during the Budget session, a number of MPs, especially from Uttar Pradesh, had asked the government to impose a ban on cow slaughter.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been demanding a complete ban on cow slaughter.
During his 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also attacked the then Congress-led UPA government for what he called “Pink Revolution” promoting slaughter-houses and the export of meat through subsidies and tax breaks.