Assam Assembly passes cattle protection Bill despite Opposition protests

The Assam Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a cattle protection Bill even as Opposition parties protested against the government’s refusal to send the draft to a select committee for consideration and walked out of the House, PTI reported.

The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, prohibits the slaughter of cattle, except on certain religious occasions when “slaughter of cattle, not being a cow or heifer or calf” is permitted, The Indian Express reported.

Extremely happy and proud to fulfill our poll promise with the passing of historic Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021.

I’m sure this will deal a heavy blow to the illegal cattle trade & transit through Assam, ensuring due care of cattle as practised in our tradition for ages. pic.twitter.com/9RZ4z4iCYd

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 13, 2021

The Bill bans the transport of cattle from and through Assam without proper documents. It also prohibits the sale of beef in areas where Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and other non-beef-eating communities predominantly live.

Selling beef is also banned within a five-kilometre radius of temples.

Violation of the new law will attract a jail term of up to eight years and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.

Congress’s Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, said the Bill will have an impact on the occupations…

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