NEW DELHI: A new nat­io­­nwide ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter, including cows, at village fairs has brought out Indian opposition parties into an open confrontation with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Hindut­­va politics, reports said on Saturday.

Kerala, ruled by the Com­m­­unist Party of India-Marx­ist (CPI-M), is leading the charge where the opposition Congress party has joined the resistance by serving beef dishes at protest feasts. Beef is legally consumed in Bengal and all southern sta­tes and northeastern states and in Goa. “With every political party barring the BJP coming out against the Central notification banning sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, protests erupted in several parts of Kerala on Satu­r­day, many of these places witnessing ‘beef festivals’ organised by student and youth activists,” The Hindu said.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017