The Indian president has approved a bill which will effect the ban on the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef in the western state of Maharashtra. BBC reports:
Anyone found breaking the law will face a fine and up to five years in prison. Hindus, who comprise 80% of India’s 1.2bn population, revere cows and the sale and consumption of beef is banned or restricted in many states.
Correspondents say most beef sold in India is actually from water buffaloes which are not considered sacred at all.
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill took 19 years to become law – it was first passed by the state’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in 1995 and was sent to the president for approval in January 1996.
The BJP, which returned to power in the state last year, once again made a push for its approval and, reports say, a group of BJP MPs from the state met President Pranab Mukherjee last week to seek his approval for the bill.
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