Karnataka govt takes ordinance route to approve anti-cow slaughter bill
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Bengaluru, December 28: In a major development, after the Karnataka government failed to introduce the anti-cow slaughter bill in the legislative council, the Karnataka cabinet on Monday took the ordinance route to put into effect the stringent anti-cattle slaughter law in the state.
Minister of Animal Husbandry Prabhu Chauhan said, “As the Congress sabotaged the session at Vidhana Parishad, the Bill could not be passed. But the BJP is firm on protecting cows so the Bill has been implemented through an ordinance.”
"Cow holds a high place in the culture of our country and is a backbone to the livelihood of a farmer. The decreasing number of cows from year to year is concerning. In this condition, if we forget our differences and come to protect our cows, we can protect the animal wealth of our state. Just out of political interest, opposing the Bill to create a wrong picture amongst people is not correct," he added.
It should be noted that the anti-cow slaughter bill has been cleared by the state Assembly without any discussion amid strong opposition from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) earlier this month. Meanwhile, in order to be made a law, the Bill had to get approved by the Legislative Council too. But unlike in the Assembly, the ruling BJP does not have favourable numbers in the Council. While the BJP has 31 MLCs (Member of Legislative Council), the Congress and JD(S) have 29 and 14 MLCs respectively.
The bill will be now sent to the Governor for approval.
The bill, which replaces the less-stringent 1964 cow protection legislation that prohibited the slaughter of cows in the state, bans the slaughter of cattle, whose definition it has expanded to include “cow, the calf of a cow and bull, bullock and he or she buffalo”. The bill, when implemented, will mean a blanket ban on beef in the southern state.
For the first offense, the penalty ranges from Rs 50,000 to 5 lakh and the consequent offense can attract a fine from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
What is ordinance
Ordinances are laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet, which will have the same effect as an Act of Parliament. IN this the government can pass a law when the Parliament is not in session. However, when the Parliament finally does come into the session, it is supposed to be presented before the members and passed as a law.
The biggest difference between an Act and an Ordinance is that an Act has no expiration date, while an Ordinance is valid till the date mentioned in the Ordinance itself.