BackKerala to hold special assembly session, calls all CMs meet on cattle trade ban
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to call a meeting of his counterparts in other states and challenge the Centre's new cattle trade rules in court
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Kochi: Kerala will summon a special assembly session on Thursday to discuss the course of action to overcome the Centre’s new cattle trade norms, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.
Vijayan said this while addressing reporters after a cabinet meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
Vijayan said he will call a meeting of his counterparts in other states as well and challenge the rules in court. The rules have faced stiff opposition from states like Kerala where beef is popular.
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Vijayan has also criticised the new norms, turning it into a state versus Centre debate. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, while activists associated with his ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) have been holding “beef fests" across the state as a mark of protest.
The new norms prohibit the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets, effectively barring this nationwide, including in states such as Kerala, which allow the slaughter of cows. That apart, the issue has also become something for the CPM and other non-BJP parties in Kerala to mount a fresh attack on the BJP, which has been gaining some foothold in the state as a third front threatening the state’s traditional bipolar politics.
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On Wednesday, Vijayan said the Centre has violated basic human rights and federal principles with the new rules.
The rules bar not only killing of animals but also prevents the sale of cattle, he said. Whether the Centre has the power to issue this order, among other things, will be discussed in the special assembly session, he said.
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