– Raheem Khan
Jaipur, Jan. 2: Since the formation of the government in Rajasthan, there is an atmosphere of fear, panic and anger among the people doing non-vegetarian business in the state. Especially after winning the elections, there is anger among the hotel owners about the manner in which action was taken by Hawamahal MLA Balmukund Acharya by visiting non-veg hotels here.
Regarding this, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Rajasthan State General Secretary Advocate Kashif Zubairi has written a letter to Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
He has written that since the formation of the new government in the state, it seems that some elected public representatives and workers of the ruling party, due to lack of constitutional knowledge, are unnecessarily targeting businesses of the Muslim community. These people aren’t concerned with the fact that the Constitution has given everyone the right to live freely with self-respect and equality.
There are continuous reports of threats to Muslim hotels and poor Muslim people doing raw meat business in the state, due to which the Muslim meat traders are facing problems in earning a livelihood; this is against the spirit of the Constitution, the letter says.
The continuous targeting of meat trade and non-vegetarian hotels clearly shows that this is just an attempt to target a particular community. While every section of society can live happily and peacefully, it is the constitutional duty of the state to maintain happiness and peace equally for all citizens, it further says.
He has written that to protect the interests of the people who earn their living through meat business and hotels, street vendors and carts and their rights in a constitutionally democratic state, AIMIM Rajasthan demands from the government to protect the rights of meat-related businesses, slaughterhouses, hotels in the entire state. But before taking any decision, a state-level committee should be constituted, which will look into all aspects related to this matter like the threat to employment and livelihood for the people associated with this business, the need to provide the same quantity of meat to non-veg people, etc. and a detailed report be submitted to the government.
He demanded that as per the suggestions given by the State-Level Committee, people associated with this business and the general public should be informed by issuing and publicizing notifications or circulars in newspapers, and media.
As per the suggestions given by the State-Level Committee, a state-level guideline should be made and every Municipal Corporation/ City Council/ Municipality/ Zilla Parishad/ Gram Panchayat, etc. should be directed to make arrangements for legal slaughter houses in their areas. This should also be done before taking action so that due to shortage of meat on a largescale, the non-vegetarian community is not deprived of its constitutional right to choose the food of its choice and the large number of poor people associated with this business are not deprived of their constitutional right to earn with freedom and dignity. And, if any person associated with this business applies for a new license or renewal, NOC should be issued by taking necessary action immediately under Food and Safety Act-2006 and Regulation-2011.
