No beef today, thebutchers gone away? …….seems to be the common refrain in Goa since the short supply beginning of this month.
But the groundreality is otherwise … The 48 member (excludingtwo constituencies, one in Sancoale, candidate declared unopposed, and theother in Navelim owing to death of acandidate) Zilla Panchayat elections onpolitical party lines were held on Saturday,12 December, 2020. Politicalentities are known to whip up emotiveissues and what better means now, subtle polarisation of votes has stood thetest ..Dont we know that when there is apolitician at one end there is an idiot at another. Despite the beefscare splashed out in local vernacular dailies the ruling dispensation came outin flying colors following declaration of results on 14th December,2020 However lets ponder a little beyond. Beef supplies in Goa is sourced from Karnatakanotably Belgavi (Belgaum). Now the Karnataka legislative Assembly got a newstringent Bill viz the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation ofCattle bill 2020 passed on 9th December,2020 but ONLY in the Legislative Assembly because the rulingBJP government has a majority. But in its bicameral legislature, its upper House viz the Karnataka LegislativeCouncil the ruling dispensation did nothave a majority hence passage of the bill failed on 15th December, 2020 It must be noted that the theearlier Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act 1964which banned ONLY slaughter of cows and calf, she buffaloes and allowed slaughterof others above 12 years aged unfit for any use but for consumption; The new bill if passed and notified will ban the slaughter transportation and sale of beef in its entirety So what happens to the tannery, tourism industry, and those beef traders theirworkmen and a section of the non vegetarian consumers etc Thus the question remains now. Will the Govt of Karnataka resort to anordinance route or wait for the nextAssembly session to debate the pros and cons by referring the Bill to a Selectcommittee et al. Needless to say it is a whole gamut of issues to be addressedand the Govt of the day is sensitive to this issue. Hence one could believe that there is a politicalovertone in the introduction and part passage of this bill if the other political developments in the neighboring state of Karnataka is taken into account In a two phase election nearly 5762 GramPanchayats (no elections will be held in some -- owing to their belated termend or their upgradation fully or partially or owing to litigation ) in the State of Karnataka go to the pollsfrom Tuesday 22nd December,2020. The ruling dispensation in Karnataka can ill afford to miss this opportunity toconsolidate their base. In a caste riddled vote bank. Emotive issues like ban on cow slaughter provides for soft polarization which now seems to be the norm withdevelopment thrown in as carrot by almost all political parties Hence post elections in the humble opinion of thiswriter having spoken to several persons in the neighbouring State the beef flowwill resume well before the festive season. Lets keep our fingers crossed. As at the time of writing the Secretary(Agriculture & Animal Husbandry) Govt of Goa when contacted telephonicallyconfirmed that no communiqué has been received banning the sale or transportation of beef in theState except for the news in the print and visual media. Besides the traders are already anticipating the worst and have reason to take stock and plan for the future. In the meanwhile supplies of beef to the Statecontinues, to certain outlets from other destinations notably Mumbai and evenNew Delhi. GODFREY J I GONSALVEScyberjourno social activist, Borda, Margao Salcette Goa India HELPLINE +91 9822158584 (24 hrs)gonsalvesgodfre...@yahoo.co.in
