Anti-cow slaughter bill bad for state's progress and economy, says Karnataka minister
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Bengaluru: Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's new minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR), said that the anti-cow slaughter bill introduced by the previous BJP rule is not good for the state's progress and it comes with massive financial burdens. He took a dig at the Basavaraj Bommai government and said the bill was drawn by the BJP cabinet's finance department.
"This bill may be reconsidered in view of huge financial implications. We cannot agree to this kind of expenditure when we are struggling to make ends meet. The next two years, we expect a contraction in budget size and the cabinet's decision can be put on hold," he read from a note written by the finance department during the BJP rule.
Criticising the anti-cow slaughter bill further, he said that BJP's calculations show that an expenditure of a whopping Rs 5,240 crore is needed to feed the state's 1.7 lakh livestock. He also clarified that he does not know how the BJP government came up with this figure (Rs 70 for each animal each day).
Speaking to NDTV, he said that any rule made by the BJP government will be discarded if it is found to be regressive and against the state's economic and social growth. He specifically named the anti-cow slaughter bill and hijab rule. He said the former did not make the farmers or industry happy and it was only drawn to please the BJP's "bosses in Nagpur".
When asked about the possible political backlash withdrawing these rules may create, he said the Congress government's focus is economic not politics.
"We are looking at the economic growth of Karnataka… farmers, traders, MSMEs... we have got a huge mandate against this ideology. We have got a huge mandate to keep Karnataka on the path of progress... as a government is it not my priority to keep every child in school? If a certain policy is regressive and is keeping my children out of school, will I keep it or repeal it?" he asked.
Kharge is also in charge of the Information Technology and BioTechnology (IT & BT) department.
