After Calcutta HC backs Bengal govt’s cattle slaughter curbs ahead of Eid, Amit Malviya trains guns on Mamata: ‘Appeasement politics’
The Statesman | 23 May 2026
BJP leader Amit Malviya on Friday targeted former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee after the Calcutta High Court refused to stay restrictions imposed by the BJP-led state government on cattle slaughter ahead of Eid al-Adha.
In a post on X early this morning, Malviya alleged that exemptions for cow slaughter had been quietly allowed during the Trinamool Congress regime under “appeasement politics”.
“The Calcutta High Court has rejected pleas challenging Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s order banning the slaughter of bulls, bullocks, cows, calves and buffalos, even during Eid, observing that cow slaughter is not an essential part of Eid celebrations,” Malviya wrote.
He further claimed that petitions moved before the court themselves revealed attempts to seek exemptions under Section 12 of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act for religious purposes.
The remarks came after the Calcutta High Court declined to interfere with the Bengal government’s May 13 notification enforcing stricter rules for cattle slaughter ahead of Id-Uz-Zuha celebrations.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed that slaughter of cows and buffaloes in public places is prohibited and referred to earlier Supreme Court rulings while hearing the petitions.
“The sacrifice of a cow is no part of the festival of Id-Uz-Zuha and is not a religious requirement under Islam,” the bench noted, citing the Supreme Court judgment in Mohd. Hanif Quareshi & Ors. vs State of Bihar.
The High Court also said that the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950 already addresses the concerns raised in the petitions and expressed confidence that the State would implement the law “in its true spirit”.
However, the court also directed the government to verify whether a robust mechanism exists for issuing mandatory fitness certificates and whether sufficient infrastructure and designated officers are available across the state to implement the rules effectively.
The petitions were moved by Trinamool Congress MLA Akhruzzaman, with support from TMC MP Mahua Moitra, challenging the state notification issued earlier this month.
Moitra had argued that the restrictions would affect both Bakri Eid observances and the rural economy linked to cattle rearing and trade.
The petition sought exemption under Section 12 of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, which empowers the state government to grant exemptions for religious purposes.
Under the May 13 notification, slaughter of bulls, bullocks, cows, calves and buffaloes requires a fitness certificate jointly issued by local civic authorities and a government veterinary officer. Slaughter is permitted only for animals above 14 years of age or those permanently incapacitated due to injury, deformity, old age or incurable disease.
The notification also bars slaughter in public places and restricts it to authorised slaughterhouses.
The Left parties also criticised the state government’s approach, arguing that the issue should not be reduced to a communal debate.
CPI(M) MP Bikashranjan Bhattacharyya claimed the restrictions would hurt cattle traders and pointed out that many of them belong to the Hindu community.
“There has been a huge cry on the part of the cattle traders, who are basically from the Hindu community,” Bhattacharyya said.
CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said the administration failed to account for Bengal’s rural economy, where cattle rearing and related trade remain important sources of livelihood.
“This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue,” Salim said, adding that those dependent on the cattle trade had been adversely affected by the notification.