Reacting to the proposed Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, Assam Congress MP from Barpeta constituency Abdul Khaleque said that the Assam government should ban selling of pork meat within 500-meter radius of mosques as well.
"If the bill talks about respecting religious sentiments, then I would appreciate if it also bans slaughter of pigs and sale of pork 500 meters around mosques as pork is forbidden in Islam," Khaleque said.
He further said that banning sale and slaughtering of cattle within five kilometer radius of Hindu temples would virtually ban beef in most parts of the state.
He also said that the new bill would indirectly ignite communal tension in the state.
The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 tabled by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says that the sale of beef would not be allowed in areas that have a predominant population of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and other non-beef-eating communities or within a radius of five km of any temple, satra (Vaishnavite monastery), or other religious institutions belonging to Hindus, or any other institution or area as may be prescribed by the competent authority.
