news details |
|
|
| Speaker's office can't have two yardsticks for tackling sensitive beef issue | | BJP may play mischief | | Early times Report
JAMMU, Oct 1: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta on Wednesday reportedly agreed to accept for discussion the opposition's private members' bills seeking decriminalization of cow killing and beef eating. At the same time, his office rejected those private members' bills which were submitted by two BJP MLAs seeking death sentence for those found guilty of cow killing and strict enforcement of the September 9 direction of the High Court that ban on bovine killing and beef eating in the state be strictly enforced. Earlier, Gupta had said that he will not allow discussion on the bills which had the potential of vitiating peaceful atmosphere in the State - a statement that was criticized by the NC and others in Kashmir, including lawyers, saying he could not act in a dictatorial manner. Significantly, Kavinder Gupta is BJP MLA from Gandhi Nagar.
MLAs belonging to the NC and the CPI-M and an independent MLA from Kashmir have moved private members' bills seeking revocation of section 298-A and 298-B for the Ranbir Dand Bidhi and BJP MLAs, Ravinder Raina and Rajeev Jasrotia had submitted bills seeking death sentence for those found guilty of violating the established law on the subject.
A report from Kashmir suggests that the Speaker's office rejected the bills moved by the BJP MLAs on the ground that the matter was sub-judice. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India agreed to hear the plea of the Jammu & Kashmir Government on October 5. The Jammu & Kashmir Government has sought the opinion of the Supreme Court on its plea that there are conflicting orders of the Jammu & Kashmir high Court on the beef issue. A PTI report in this regard said: "The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Monday (October 5) a plea by Jammu & Kashmir government against two 'conflicting' orders of the High Court pertaining to the slaughter of bovine animals and ban on beef sale in the state, claiming these were being 'misused' to disturb peace".
Surprisingly, none in the legal fraternity in Jammu is aware of "conflicting" orders of the High Court pertaining to the slaughter of bovine animals and ban on beef sale in the state. "We are not aware of any such conflicting orders issued by the High Court. We only know about the September 9 order of High Court," many a senior advocate said when asked to clear the confusion caused by the Jammu & Kashmir Government's decision to approach the Supreme Court of India.
It is intriguing that while the Speaker said that he would allow discussion on the opposition's private members' bills, his office rejected those moved by the BJP MLAs. The Speaker's office cannot have two yardsticks, one for those seeking decriminalization of bovine killing and beef eating and other for those seeking capital punishment for those found guilty of breaking the established law of the land.
The reports which emanated from Kashmir on Wednesday have caused confusion in the minds of the people, particularly people of Jammu region who want strict enforcement of ban on cow killing and beef eating. The reports have led them to believe that the BJP might support the opposition's private member's bills, as the PDP, according to sources, "is in complete accord with the NC, the CPI-M and an independent MLA from Kashmir as far as the stand on cow killing and beef eating is concerned". The sources further said that "the constituency of the PDP and the NC is the same and, hence, the PDP can't afford to oppose the NC's private member's bill".
In the meantime, some leading advocates have asserted that the Jammu & Kashmir assembly can discuss the private members' bills, notwithstanding the fact that the state government has approached the Supreme Court of India to seek its opinion on what it called "conflicting" orders of the High Court. Besides, a Kashmir-based senior advocate contested the state government's plea. He reportedly said: "In my view, the order of the Srinagar bench is not conflicting with an earlier order of the Jammu wing of the High Court, because nowhere does it say do not implement the ban on bovine slaughter or beef sale. It just says that the J&K Govt or legislature is free to amend or scrap the penal section under challenge…Seen in this background the plea of J&K Government before the Supreme Court does not appear bona fide". Another senior High Court advocate said "the plea before the Supreme Court also appeared to be a ploy by the J&K government to avoid taking a public stand on the beef ban row, as it was yet to submit its response to the petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 298 (A to D) of the RPC, which regulates the ban on bovine slaughter and beef sale". |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
