Assam’s cattle bill a threat to Northeast’s food habits, says NPCC president

Dimapur, July 13 (EMN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Tuesday said Assam government should take caution before passing its new bill to protect cattle in the state, stating that it “should not be detrimental to the inherent trade and food habits of the Northeast”.

It came a day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tabled the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, in the state assembly. If passed, sale of beef or beef products will be prohibited in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other non beef-eating communities or within a radius of 5 km of any temple or sattra (Vaishnavite monasteries).

“Cow trade in the Northeast extents to Bangladesh and Myanmar through Assam’s length and breadth since time immemorial for the Hill States. Any restriction through the Bill will be detrimental to the inherent trade and deprive food,” read the press release issued by NPCC president K Therie.

“The greater threat is of the law being misused to implicate people unnecessarily. It is a threat to peaceful co-existence,” it added.

While acknowledging that Assam has the right to legislate its own laws, Therie said “the Bill should not forget that we are a union of states and we are economically interdependent”.

“I hope good sense will prevail in the House,” he added.