The Gujarat Assembly passed The Gujarat Preservation (Amendment) Bill that seeks to award life term to anyone found guilty of cow slaughter in the state on the last day of the Budget session of the House on Friday. Gujarat thus becomes the first state in the country to make cow slaughter punishable, and political observers feel that this is part of BJP's strategy to please hardliners right ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. Besides, the Amendment Bill also has stringent provisions for punishing those who are involved in transportation and sale of beef or beef products. People found to be in possession of beef will be fined in the range of Rs 1 to 5 lakh, and imprisoned for seven to ten years. This has also been made a non-bailable offense. Earlier, under the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2011, those found guilty of slaughtering a cow or transporting beef were awarded seven-year sentences and a Rs 50,000-fine.The Bill introduced in the House stated that the ...
