Maharashtra govt not interested in deciding who eats what: CM Fadnavis

MUMBAI: On a day the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation reiterated it would not withdraw its order to shut slaughterhouses and meat shops on Aug 15, more corporations - Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, Nashik and Jalgaon - issued similar directives.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said the decision was not taken by the Mahayuti govt but by an earlier govt in 1988 and that everyone was free to eat what they wanted. "The state govt is not interested in deciding who eats what. We have lots of issues before us," he said when asked about opposition to the Independence Day slaughter ban .

Protests have grown, with Dy CM Ajit Pawar also saying it wasn't right. Fadnavis said a govt resolution on slaughter bans on certain days was issued in 1988 and had been in force since. "Even I did not know about it till I read about it in the media," he said, calling the issue overblown.

He said municipal corporations told him they take this decision every year, including when Uddhav Thackeray was CM. Referring to a remark by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut that the CM was making Maharashtra "impotent" with such a ban, Fadnavis said without naming him, "Some people have started calling those eating vegetarian food impotent. This foolishness must stop. Each one can eat what he wants. Our Constitution has given the right to everyone to live."

BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said the policy was first implemented when Sharad Pawar was the CM, and asked if the opposition would question him.