'Against right to freedom': SP MP Iqra Hasan slams Assam beef ban

Hasan said that if the government continues interfering in personal lives, the nation will head towards dictatorship.

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan on Thursday hit out at Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for imposing a complete ban on beef consumption in hotels, and public places in the state.

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi,(PTI)

Terming the ban as against “right to freedom”, Hasan said that if the government continues interfering in personal lives, the nation will head towards dictatorship.

"It is the beauty of the country that we have people following different cultures and religions. These kinds of decisions are against the Constitution," the Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kairana was quoted as saying by ANI.

Sarma announced on Wednesday that the government has decided to ban the serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels, and public places across Assam.

The CM said the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, passed in 2021, has been quite successful in ensuring the slaughter of cattle, and "now we have decided to stop the consumption of beef in public places."

"We had passed the law on prohibition of cattle slaughter three years ago, and it was quite successful, so now, in Assam, we have decided that beef will not be served in any restaurant or hotel and also it will not be served in any public function or public place, so from today we have completely decided to stop the consumption of beef in hotels, restaurants and public places," the Assam CM said.

Sarma said that the earlier decision was to only restrict consumption of beef near temples, but now the government has expanded it to the whole state.

Iqra Hasan wasn't the only member of the opposition to criticise the Sarma government's order.

Opposition hits out at the Himanta Biswa Sarma government

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the Assam CM should remember that he lost the Jharkhand election when he made it about Hindus vs Muslims.

"That's a decision for the Government to make. There is nothing political about it. What is important to note is that the CM continues to hope to get some political brownie points based on some accusations that he has levied against the Opposition. So, it is a choice that he had to make and he has made the choice. But if he is trying to derive any political benefit out of it, he should remember that as an in charge of Jharkhand, he just managed to lose an election when he made it about Hindus vs Muslims," she said.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi echoed the Sena (UBT) MP saying that the Assam CM was trying to hide his electoral defeat in Jharkhand.

" In Jharkhand, BJP suffered a shameful defeat under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma...he is trying to hide his defeat and shameful loss, he has come up with this conspiracy. I believe that the way Jharkhand people defeated the politics of hatred and infiltrators, the same way in the coming election, people of Assam will punish the corrupt govt of Himanta Biswa Sarma," he said.