In Kerala, around 60% of the total meat consumed is beef. Not just Muslims and Christians, many Hindus are also fond of dishes made of the red meat.

The Union government’s new notification banning the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter is a “fascist and anti-federal move” and the Centre can’t prepare a menu for the people of the country, Kerala’s Left government said on Friday.

“We will not allow the (central) government to enforce fascist policies of the RSS and other fringe outfits. Let it issue many such notifications, we will not follow them,” said Kerala’s agriculture minister VS Sunil Kumar.

The Kerala Chief Minister’s Office also criticised the slaughter ban, saying “Cattle slaughter becomes illegal at a time when manslaughter happens in the name of cow”.

In a series of tweets, it said, the new regulation “will rob lakhs of jobs, cripple leather industry”.

It called the notification an “attack on our poor, dalits & farmers”.

The CMO said food consumption of millions of people will be affected by the “clear attack on our plurality, the essence of India”.

The Congress also criticised the Union government’s latest notification.

“It is against the Constitution of the country and infringes upon the right of citizens,” said MM Hassan, acting president of the state Congress.

• 

  BJP, Sangh support slaughter ban but cow vigilante not our people: Gadkari
• 

  Eating beef in Goa: A complicated history of identity politics

He said the timing of the notification makes it more intriguing, as the Muslim holy month of Ramzan was scheduled to begin on Friday.

In Kerala, around 60% of the total meat consumed is beef. Not just Muslims and Christians, many Hindus are also fond of dishes made of the red meat.

A raid by Delhi Police at the Kerala House kitchen in the national capital a couple of years ago had triggered outrage in the state. Many student organisations had conducted ‘beef festivals’ in protest against the police action.

People in many states in the north-east also eat beef.

“It is a very bad decision. We don’t agree to it and won’t implement it,” said Mizoram’s animal husbandry minister C Ngunlianchunga.

Mhao, the owner of Taochi Enterprise, one of the biggest meat suppliers in the north-east, said: “I don’t think the rule will be applicable to the north-east. It will be chaotic and a body blow to business. Why are they digging into our plates?”

The environment ministry this week notified a regulation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 prohibiting sale of cattle through animal markets across the country. Regulating animal trade is a state business but animal welfare is a central subject, thereby providing the window for the ministry to notify the rule.

(With inputs from Utpal Parashar in Guwahati)