There are around 1,500 registered meat shops in the jurisdiction of the SDMC.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra today slammed the ban on meat shops in various parts of Delhi for the Hindu festival of Navratri. Referring to freedoms guaranteed to Indian citizens by the Constitution, she said it allows her to eat meat whenever she likes and also allows shopkeepers selling meat the freedom to conduct their business.
"I live in South Delhi.
The Constitution allows me to eat meat when I like and the shopkeeper the freedom to run his trade.
Full stop," she said in a tweet this morning.
On Monday, the South Delhi Mayor Mukesh Suryan had announced that meat shops under his civic body should be shut during the "auspicious period of Navratri devoted to Goddess Durga", adding that devotees avoid eating meat, onions and garlic during these nine days. He had claimed the decision was taken following complaints, and that it does not infringe on anyone's liberty.
"We will strictly close all meat shops. When meat is not sold, people will not eat it," the South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor told NDTV on Tuesday, defending the order similar to those in some Islamic nations where drinking water in public is prohibited during the fasting month of Ramadan.
"We have taken this decision keeping in mind the sentiments of Delhiites. People complained to me. The fasting people were facing problems over the cutting of meat in the open. This is not a violation of anyone's personal liberty," Mr Suryan said.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Mayor has also called for the shutting of these shops during the nine-day festival, but there has been no such word from the North corporation, which like the other two is also ruled by the BJP.
While East Delhi Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal claimed that during Navratra "90 per cent people do not consume non-vegetarian food", his south counterpart Mukesh Suryan said there was "no need to open meat shops" during the festival as "most people do not consume non-vegetarian food" during this period.
However, there was no official order issued by the civic bodies.
Following the ban calls, several meat shop owners in these areas of the national capital kept their establishments closed yesterday, fearing action by officials.
However, in some markets of the city meat is anyways not sold on Tuesdays as this day of the week is considered auspicious by many Hindus.
There are around 1,500 registered meat shops in the jurisdiction of the SDMC, according to news agency PTI.