'Strongly oppose BJP's cow slaughter ban bill' Says H.D. Deve Gowda

BENGALURU: On the day when his party expressed its support to the no-confidence motion moved by the ruling BJP to replace the Legislative Council Chairman, Janata Dal-Secular supremo, H.D. Deve Gowda on Tuesday said that they will strongly oppose the move to pass the Bill to prohibit cow slaughter in the state.

In a statement, he said that the Bill prohibiting cow slaughter passed in the Assembly last week would not only disturb the communal harmony but also the peace in the state.

Noting that the Cow Slaughter Prohibition Act, 1966 is in force in the state, the former Prime Minister said: "In 2010, the then BJP government tried to change the law. The then opposition, Congress, and JD-S had jointly opposed it. I had then met the Governor and the President and demanded that they must not agree to approve the bill. The Governor had then sought clarification. After that, the bill was later withdrawn due to the change in government leadership."

Deve Gowda observed that, much like in 2010, the JD-S will oppose the amendment bill, adding that there were ample provisions to prevent cow slaughter in the existing Act.

His statement came on the day, when his party handed over a letter of support to the BJP in the bid to replace Council Chairman, K. Pratapchandra Shetty.

The ruling BJP had called a daylong session only to replace Shetty, who is a Congress MLC. The move, however, met with stiff resistance from Congress members even as the ruling BJP directed the Deputy Chairman, S.L. Dharme Gowda to occupy the chair prior to the arrival of the Chairman. Even the entrance door was closed preventing Shetty from entering.

This, however, led to chaotic scenes with Congress leaders seeking to drag away Dharme Gowda while BJP members pushed hard to keep him on the chair.

As the house was witnessing unruly scenes, Shetty came and adjourned the session sine die again without taking up any business on Tuesday, though the agenda had listed to take several discussions including passage of cow slaughter ban bill. (IANS)

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