A directive issued in this regard by Directorate of Urban Local Bodies have asked restaurants and dhabas (road side eateries) not to sell meat and chicken dishes for the next nine days starting September 11.

Haryana has joined BJP-ruled states of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat in banning sale of meat for nine days on account of Jain fasting festival of Paryushan Parva. Reports say that this is first time that such a kind of ban has been imposed in the state.

A directive issued in this regard by Directorate of Urban Local Bodies have asked restaurants and dhabas (road side eateries) not to sell meat and chicken dishes for the next nine days starting September 11. The move has triggered a protest by meat and chicken sellers and restaurant, dhaba owners.

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The Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh on Friday banned the sale of meat in the state citing the Jain festival.

Thorn in flesh

A four-day ban on meat in metropolitan Mumbai has already stirred huge protests in India's financial capital, while the measure was quietly enforced in Rajasthan. In Jammu and Kashmir, where the BJP is a part of the coalition government, the state High Court has reiterated an over 150-year-old ban on beef.



Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), in a bid to regain political relevance, led the protests in Mumbai's Dadar suburb, the hub of the meat-loving Maharashtrian community, by selling the banned items on Thursday -- the start of the Jain holy festival which devouts observe through religious austerity/fasting and forgiveness.

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"Only because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, Gujarati people, Jains are feeling emboldened...They are trying to control the eating habits of others," Thackeray said.



His cousin and BJP ally in the state, Uddhav Thackeray, also joined the protest against the ban, calling it another example of minority appeasement by a government. In a controversial statement, the party said, "The Muslims have Pakistan to go to, where will the Jains of India go?"



Earlier this week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) imposed a ban on sale of meat on four days of the Paryushan festival, while the adjoining Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation in Thane had declared a complete ban during September 11-18.

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The Bombay Mutton Dealers Association (BMDA) has challenged the BMC's move in the Bombay High Court, which directed the civic and state authorities to file affidavits on the issue. Terming the ban as "not feasible" in a metropolitan city like Mumbai, Justice Anoop Mohta observed that such a straight ban cannot be a formula.