“Some people even went ahead and called vegetarians impotent. This nonsense should stop at once,” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The raging controversy over the shutdown of abattoirs and meat shops on Independence Day continues, as the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) hits back at the Opposition, saying the policy to keep slaughterhouses shut on I-Day was first implemented in 1988. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the government has no interest in regulating people’s food choices and that civic bodies are following orders as per the GR. Calling the controversy unnecessary, Mr. Fadnavis said, “As I was unaware of the issue, I spoke to several municipal corporations, they told me about the 1988 government resolution (GR) approving the closure of abattoirs on I-Day, which was also implemented during Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure. People are creating the controversy as if we made the decisions. So stop this nonsense.” BJP’s spokesperson Keshav Upadhye slammed the Opposition, asking whether they would question NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar, as the GR was first implemented when he became Chief Minister.The controversy erupted after several civic bodies in the State, including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) and Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC), ordered the closure of slaughterhouses and shops selling meat on August 15. NCP-SP MLA Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray criticised the move, saying that Municipal commissioners have no right to interfere in the food choices of people on I-Day. Mr. Awahad called the move a way to create a non-vegetarian-vegetarian divide.In response to the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s remarks about making Maharashtra “impotent”, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Some people have also gone to the lengths of calling vegetarian people as impotent. This is nonsense.”Sanjay Raut on Wednesday asked, “Is the government making Maharashtra impotent? During battles, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and their Mavlas, Peshwas, had a non-vegetarian diet to cope with the battle situations; do you think they ate rice and daal and got the victories? Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal has launched a scathing attack, alleging that such movers are made to hide the dark stains on the BJP’s past. “BJP’s ideological forefathers were with the British; some were drawing pensions from the British and helping them,” said Mr. Sapkal, adding that the government wants to have full control over the public. “BJP aims to impose one leader, one dress, one language, and one diet, thereby destroying the unity in diversity of the country and bringing in dictatorship,” he added. The closure of the meat shop also caused uneasiness in the Mahayuti camp, as Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) and NCP leader Ajit Pawar was appalled by the civic body’s decision ordering the closure of slaughterhouses. “The ban is wrong as people from different religions and caste resides in Maharashtra. For a day, it is fine, if it is about culture, but imposing them on Maharashtra Day, Independence Day and Republic Day,” Mr. Pawar added. Published - August 13, 2025 07:31 pm IST
