Union Minister of State for Communications and Kheda MP Devusinh Chauhan has urged for a “no-meat” day to be observed on January 22 to mark the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya.
The Kheda district administration has sent out Chauhan’s memorandum, urging for the closure of meat shops on January 22, to the state home department “for consideration”.
A memorandum Chauhan submitted to the District Collector on January 11 states, “It is after 500 years that a temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ram is being rebuilt and it has brought delight to residents of Kheda along with the citizens of the entire country… Therefore, several institutions and individuals have made representations before me requesting meat shops across the district to be closed for one day. The district administration is requested to issue directives for the closure of meat shops in Kheda on January 22, considering the sentiments of the people.”
While health department officials of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) said that a government notification is yet to be received in the matter, Kheda District Collector KL Bachani told this newspaper, “The district collector has no power to direct closure of any business on any day… We have forwarded the representation made by the honorable MP to the Home department of the state for further action or directive…”
Currently, the state government has notified 14 days of closure in a year in this regard, which include four Mondays of Shravan as per the Hindu calendar, Janmashtami, Jain Samvatsari, Anant Chaturdashi as well as one week of Jain Paryushan to be observed every year.
The proposal for a “no-meat” day on January 22 has sparked mixed reactions. Some people have welcomed the move, while others have opposed it, calling it an infringement on their personal choices.
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