NCP questions closure of meat shops on Aug 15; BJP says ban as per 1988 order

Several civic bodies across Maharashtra have directed meat shops to remain closed on August 15 drawing criticism from the Nationalist Congress Party NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister CM Ajit Pawar PTI reported However its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has defended the move pointing to a 1988 state government order that allows municipal bodies to impose such restrictionsMunicipal corporations in Nagpur Nashik Malegaon Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and KalyanDombivli have issued directives to ban the sale of meat on Independence DayThe BJP on Wednesday said that the practice of shutting abattoirs on Independence Day was introduced in 1988 when NCP SP President Sharad Pawar was the chief minister of Maharashtra reported PTI The party questioned whether the opposition would now raise objections with Pawar himselfMaharashtra BJPrsquos chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye directed this query at NCP SP legislator Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena UBT Member of LA Aaditya Thackeray amid the controversy over the closure ordersUpadhye stated that the policy was first formulated by the Congress government under then Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan reported PTIWithin a month in 1988 Sharad Pawar became the chief minister and implemented the policy for the first time he saidHe added that during the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government mdash which included Awhad and Thackeray as ministers mdash the same practice was followed without objectionThe MVA government comprising the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT undivided NCP and Congress governed Maharashtra from November 2019 until June 2022Will they seek a response from Sharad Pawar for taking such a decision back then Will they criticise him too Awhad and Thackeray should respond to it now Upadhye saidBoth Awhad and Thackeray have lost their original parties and government Therefore they are depressed and find fault with any decision to target the state government he addedChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the government had no interest in dictating peoplersquos food choices calling the controversy over meat shop closures ldquounnecessaryrdquoThe Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation has declared that slaughterhouses meat outlets and shops will be shut on August 15 and August 20 The closures are in observance of Gokul Ashtami and Paryushan Parva both religious occasions reported PTIThe order follows a similar one issued by the KalyanDombivli Municipal Corporation KDMC in Thane districtReacting to KDMCrsquos decision Shiv Sena UBT legislator Aaditya Thackeray had said the commissioner should be suspended asserting that it was not the civic chiefs role to decide on what people eat hellipmdash Aaditya Thackeray AUThackeray August 13 2025Awhad announced he would host a mutton party on August 15 in protest against the KDMCrsquos directiveThe Congress meanwhile accused the BJPled government of deliberately creating distractions over nonsensical matters such as pigeon feeding and meat sales on Independence Day instead of addressing real issuesMaharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal told reporters on Wednesday that the BJP was fuelling caste and communal tensions for political gainThe Maharashtra government should not tell us what time we should eat meat what spices or salt should we use it should not try to control our personal habits marriages or our thinking process Such things have no place in our state but this government is deliberately doing it he saidDeputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also expressed displeasure over the ban orders by some civic bodies saying such restrictions were unwarrantedPawar said that these bans are typically observed on religious occasions such as Ashadhi Ekadashi Mahashivratri and Mahavir Jayanti and added that both vegetarian and nonvegetarian food habits are common across MaharashtraIt is wrong to impose such a ban In major cities people of different castes and religions reside If it is an emotional issue then people accept it ban for a day But if you clamp such orders on Maharashtra Day Independence Day and Republic Day then it is difficult Pawar saidAIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi also opposed the decision by municipal corporations to shut down slaughterhouses and meat shops on August 15 terming it as unconstitutional and sought to know the link between meat consumption and Independence Day celebrationsThese meat bans violate peoples right to liberty privacy livelihood culture nutrition and religion the Lok Sabha MP told reporters in HyderabadMany municipal corporations across India seemed to have ordered that slaughterhouses and meat shops should be closed on 15th August Unfortunately GHMCOnline has also made a similar order This is callous and unconstitutional Whatrsquos the connection between eating meat andhellipmdash Asaduddin Owaisi asadowaisi August 13 2025With PTI inputs