Shiva Sena and MNS defy ban on meat

Mumbai: Defying the ban on the sale of meat for four days because of a religious festival of Jains, activists of the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Thursday set up meat stalls in many parts of Mumbai.
Minor clashes were reported between the police and Shiv Sena and MNS workers in parts of central Mumbai and many activists of the two parties were detained. The Shiv Sena, which is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), both at the centre and in Maharashtra, is opposed to the ban on sale of meat on four days (September 10, 13, 17 and 18), which coincide with the week-long Paryushan, a Jain festival, when members of the community observe a fast and seek forgiveness.
The BJP claims that the ban on the sale of meat has been in force for several years now. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC), controlled by the Shiv Sena, has been enforcing the ban for years now, said BJP leaders.
According to the party, the BMC first imposed a ban way back in 1964. About 30 years later, the then Congress government in Maharashtra also extended the ban, shutting down the civic body-owned slaughter house and prohibiting the sale of meat on a few days during the festival.
The Shiv Sena and the MNS have often accused the state BJP of supporting the affluent Gujarati and Jain population in Mumbai. In fact, in the run-up to state assembly elections last year, they had alleged that the BJP wanted to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, which the BJP dismissed as a bogey to frighten Maharashtrians. Both the Senas claim to fight on behalf of Maharashtrians, though their rivalry has resulted in a split of their vote bank.
The Shiv Sena is also worried that the BJP, by wooing the Gujarati and Jain communities (which are largely vegetarian), is aiming to dislodge it from the BMC in elections to the civic body due to be held in 2017. Even in the past there have been disputes between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in many localities.
In many pockets of south Mumbai and in the western suburbs, there has been a decline in the number of non-vegetarian restaurants and shops selling meat, eggs and fish. In fact, the Shiv Sena had in the past set up fish stalls outside housing societies dominated by these two communities.
Meanwhile, the Bombay high court will on Friday take up a plea by the Bombay Mutton Dealer's Association, seeking dismissal of the order imposing a four-day ban on the slaughter and sale of meat. The traders claim that supplies of meat from the Deonar abattoir, which was shut on Thursday, the first day of the ban, would stop and affect their livelihood.

• India