The dissent on beef ban unexpectedly comes from within BJP party members leaving ruling BJP in Maharashtra left red-faced.
Speaking in the Maharashtra assembly on Thursday, Bhimrao Dhonde, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Ashti, Beed, crticizes the beef ban imposed by the state government said the law was not in the interest of farmers.
Dhonde’s criticism comes days after the Centre’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian denied answering media question on beef ban in Mumbai saying answering it would cost him his job.
“Why should you snatch away the poor’s meal?” asked Bhimrao during a discussion on the state’s agrarian crisis.
“In times of drought, feeding productive animals itself is a big challenge for farmers. How can a farmer sustain the additional burden of looking after spent cattle?” asked Dhonde.
“I feel it is not right to decide what people must eat. I don’t think it is right,” he added.
“Muslims eat beef, some Hindus and poor people also eat beef, so why should we stop them from eating?” he added
The controversial beef ban, which was imposed by the Maharashtra government last March, has been opposed before, but this is perhaps the first time that a ruling party MLA has openly spoken against it.