Meat shops near schools, temples promote violent tendencies, affect purity of sentiment: Bihar dy CM

Patna, Feb 24 (PTI) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has vowed to clamp down on shops selling meat, fish and poultry in the vicinity of religious and educational institutions, claiming that these offended purity of sentiments and promoted violent tendencies among children.

The senior BJP leader, who holds the urban development portfolio in the Nitish Kumar government, made a statement to this effect a couple of days ago when his views were sought on a recent circular issued by the department.

"We are making a new Bihar, and this is being reflected in all the steps we take. In a recent departmental meeting, I issued directions to strictly implement the rules that have been framed to ensure proper hygiene and social harmony," he said.

"We are not against people's right to have food of their choice. But, selling such items in the open, especially in the vicinity of religious institutions, adversely affects the purity of our sentiments. Similarly, these need to be kept away from educational institutions to prevent violent tendencies among children," Sinha said.

A senior department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the rules have been in force for years.

"Shops of meat, fish and poultry in the vicinity of such places run illegally. We do not wish to comment on the reasons that may have led to such rules, but, yes, there has been a recent thrust on enforcement of these," he said.

According to sources in the department, meat shops first got the goat of Sinha a few weeks ago when, on a visit to the north Bihar district of Darbhanga, he felt anguished by the odour emanated by roadside stalls dealing in these items.

District authorities were promptly directed to take remedial action and, in due course, strict enforcement of the Bihar Municipality Act, 2007, was ordered across the state.

However, in a state where the consumption of non-vegetarian food by opposition leaders like Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi have, in the recent past, become poll issues, with even Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that meat was consumed by INDIA bloc bigwigs during auspicious periods to berate Hindus and appease Muslims, apprehensions have been expressed that Sinha may have taken recourse to dog whistling at a time when the festival of Holi is around the corner, and elections are due in Assam and West Bengal.

"The rules against the sale of meat near schools and temples have been in place for ages. But, the manner in which Vijay Sinha spoke makes it amply clear that he was targeting a particular community," senior RJD MLA Bhai Virendra told PTI.

Similar views were echoed by Akhtarul Iman, an MLA of the AIMIM, who also heads the state unit of the party.

These rules have always been there. And, nobody has a problem with the enforcement of these. However, the manner in which Sinha spoke, as also the timing, give rise to doubts about the purity of his own intentions, he asserted.

Leaders of the BJP would do well to introspect as to why, despite the party sharing power for two decades, the problem of illegal sale of meat, fish and poultry continues. The main reason is the absence of proper slaughterhouses in towns. And, it is the duty of the government to set up these, Iman said.

The AIMIM leader said the state government should set up dedicated spots for retail sellers, who deal in not more than two or three kg of meat, fish or poultry in a day.

"They cannot be expected to go all the way to abattoirs set up in some far-off corner. Assign them a proper place, taking care that it is not close to a temple or a school, but do not indulge in mere headline hunting. Social harmony is affected by such posturing, more than anything else," he added.

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor also criticised the stance adopted by Sinha as "divisive".

Referring to the assembly polls held in November, in which NDA got a landslide victory, Kishor said, "The electorate of Bihar is reaping what it has sown. The type of people they have voted for are going to talk only about meat shops and not about unemployment and migration." "Bihar ranks among the top five states of the country when it comes to consuming non-vegetarian food. It is fine to insist on the proper licensing of shops and the enforcement of rules of hygiene. But people must be on guard against divisive rhetoric," the former poll strategist added. PTI SUK PKD NAC RBT ACD