Concern in Rajya Sabha over crackdown over slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Concern over the crackdown over slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh was expressed in the Rajya Sabha today, with a TMC member saying that due to the "arbitrary clampdown", the livelihood of thousands of people had been affected.

The government however asserted that the action was being taken only against illegal slaughterhouses and the genuine ones will not be touched.

Raising the matter during the Zero Hour, Trinamool Congress member Nadimul Haque said that worrying reports were coming from Uttar Pradesh and other states like Jharkhand.

He said the action being taken against meat sellers appeared to be "one-sided" and it has to be factored in that butchers generally belonged to the weaker sections of society who have been pursuing the profession for generations.

"What food to eat and what to do for a living should not be dictated" and if care is not taken, there was a danger of a "police state" emerging, the TMC member said.

He said the "arbitrary clampdown" was an affront to the right of the people to earn a living by following an occupation of their choice and added that 14 per cent of UP's GDP will be affected by this move.

After Haque expressed concern, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi assured the members that while the illegal slaughterhouses would not be spared, the genuine ones would not be touched.

He said the illagal abattoirs have had an adverse impact on the health of the people as also on the environment.