This Maharashtra MLA is the latest to speak against the beef ban

Bhimrao Dhonde, the MLA from Maharashtra’s draught-prone Ashti constituency in Beed, has emerged as the latest opponent of the beef ban in the state.

“Why should you snatch away the poor’s meal?” asked Bhimrao as he spoke on the state’s agrarian crisis.

“In times of drought, feeding productive animals itself is a big challenge for farmers. How can a farmer sustain the additional burden of looking after spent cattle?” he added.

What makes Dhonde’s views more intriguing is that he was a member of the Congress party until 2014. However, before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections he switched sides and joined the BJP.

The BJP has been quite vocal about its pro beef-ban policy in all the states in which it is in power.

It was only in October 2015, that Haryana Health Minister, Anil Vij, of the BJP argued for making the cow the national animal and even conducted an online poll on the same issue.

So contentious has the issue been that CEA Arvind Subramanian recently categorically refused to speak on the topic over fear of losing his job.

However, there has been no official response from the BJP on Dhonde’s views.