Nand Kishore Gurjar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Loni in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, has demanded that meat shops and hotels serving non-vegetarian food and slaughterhouses in his constituency be shut down.
Gurjar wrote a letter in this regard to the DCP (Rural) of Ghaziabad Police Commissionerate on Tuesday, 5 December.
"We have received information that in all the police station areas of Loni, under the patronage of some alleged leaders, meat shops, non-vegetarian hotels, and butcher houses are being operated by charging convenience fees. This is worrying and against the intentions of the state government," the MLA wrote in the letter.
The MLA further directed the DCP to "ensure immediate closure of meat shops, non-vegetarian hotels and slaughterhouses and arrest their operators. Apart from this, take action under the National Security Act against those involved in extortion, illegal extortion and providing protection in operations."
Gurjar has a history of forcefully shutting down meat shops in his constituency. In October 2021, the MLA went around forcing shop owners to down their shutters. In a video that went viral, he was seen saying that roosters would not be sold in his constituency. He also allegedly threatened shop owners selling poultry.
In another video, Gurjar was heard telling a poultry shop owner, "Listen, stop all this and run away or you will go to jail. Won't get bail at any price."
Last year, in March, he sparked a controversy by calling for a "blanket ban" on meat shops in Loni. He warned officials that they would be held responsible if meat shops are found operational in his constituency.
Rajasthan MLA's Similar Order
The recent move by Gurjar comes just a day after BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya, who won the Hawa Mahal seat in Jaipur in the recently-concluded Rajasthan elections, ordered the shutdown of all the non-veg street food stalls in the area.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the BJP MLA can be seen calling an officer and asking him to shut down all the roadside non-veg eateries by that evening.
In another purported video, Acharya is seen outside a non-vegetarian outlet in Jaipur, asking to see the owner's licence. He accused the outlet of illegal possession of land.
"Not even a single person has a licence here. How will a tourist come here? You have spread dirt all around. Karachi banana chahte ho? Yeh apkaa Kashi hai (Do you want to become like Karachi? This is Kashi)."
Hindustan Times reported him as saying, "I have been speaking to officers for a few years now that in our whole area, all constituencies in the old city, openly on the streets near temples in nooks and corners many meat shops are operating. There is a rule regarding meat shops that whatever meat you sell – raw or cooked – you have to cover it, you need to have a licence and this has to be kept in mind."
The newspaper reported the MLA as saying that "these shops are working on naalas (drains) in dirty conditions. This is spreading diseases. This is why we said that they should work according to the rules."
Acharya, a 'seer', had defeated Congress candidate RR Tiwari by a margin of 974 votes.
He rose to prominence on social media recently for his campaign to "save Jaipur's Hindu temples." Despite not being a party member, Acharya was given a ticket over several party heavyweights.
'Attack on People's Food Practices Unconstitutional'
Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi reacted to Acharya's video and termed his order "incorrect."
Owaisi said: "No one can stop it. If someone wants to set up a non-veg food stall, how can anyone stop it?"
Human rights organisation People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) issued a statement on Monday, 4 December, saying that Acharya's actions amounted to an "attack on people's food and dietary practices (and) is unconstitutional."
"There is no mention of veg and non-veg in the Street Vendors Act. There is a rule to create vending zones and provide security to street vendors by constituting a Town Vending Committee. Till now the Town Vending Town Vending Committee has not provided protection to the vendors. Licences have not been given to vendors and vending zones have also not been identified. In such a situation, a newly elected MLA taking the law into his hands and threatening meat shops and non-veg vendors on street vendors is a matter of great concern. We strongly condemn it," the PUCL statement read.
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