UP Meat Traders Support Yogi Adityanath, Says Minister After Meeting

Lucknow: Days after the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, the striking meat traders of Uttar Pradesh had a meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday evening. While the four-day old strike was not immediately called off, the traders hinted at a positive decision, saying an announcement will be made after internal meetings.

After the meeting, state minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the meat traders have supported the Chief Minister and said as citizens of India it was their "duty" to see that nothing illegal is allowed.

The meat traders have been on a strike in protest against the police action, which allegedly didn't spare traders who were selling chicken and fish. After a chorus of protests and media reports, the Chief Minister had clarified that action was to be taken only against slaughterhouses that were operating illegally -- without proper permissions.

The government's move has found support from the All India Meat Association, which has hailed the Chief Minister for following his "raj dharma".

"Meat traders were subjected to injustice by the BSP and SP governments," Haji Shakeel Qureshi, the representative of All India Meat Association and All India Meat and Livestock Exporters' Association  was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

"The new chief minister is following his raj dharma (the duty of a ruler), and it is wrong to comment on the one who is pursuing his raj dharma... He is trying to bring the system back on track and needs to be thanked," he said.

Action, he said, is being taken only against illegal slaughterhouses and there is no report of action against any legal abattoir, he said.