Union minister Chirag Paswan has come down heavily on administrative decisions in certain BJP-ruled states to restrict the sale of meat, fish and eggs during the nine-day period of Navratri from March 30 to April 6, and said political parties should refrain from getting involved in matters of personal faith.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of NDA partners at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence in Patna on Sunday, Paswan said administrative orders banning meat sales during Navratri and Eid-ul-Fitr as "trash talk".
"Faltu ki baaten hai ye sab (this is all trash talk). This is not required. This has been happening for centuries, where every religious person has maintained brotherhood and lived simply," Paswan said.
"Who will offer namaz where, whether shops will remain open or closed during Navratri, all these are useless things. There is no need to discuss this," Paswan said.
The Lok Janshakti Party (RV) chief emphasized that religious matters should remain personal and political parties should refrain from commenting on matters of personal faith.
"People try to create division in society for their politics. There are big issues today which should be discussed. At east political parties should refrain from commenting o religion. These are matters of personal faith," Paswan said.
The remarks by the Union minister, whose party is part of the ruling NDA at the Centre came in response to administrative decisions such as the restrictions on offering namaz in public laces and the sale of meat etc during Navratri in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The Maihar district administration in Madhya Pradesh banned the purchase and sale of meat, fish, and eggs within Maihar Nagar Palika limits during Navratri from March 30 to April 7. The order was issued by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vikas Kumar Singh under Section 163 of the BNS.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath-led government banned the sale of meat within 500 metres of religious places in the state for the nine-day Chaitra Navratri festival, which begins on Sunday, and directed that all illegal slaughterhouses be closed.
Issuing special instructions for Ram Navami, which will be celebrated on April 6, the UP government said there will be a complete ban on the sale of meat throughout the state.
While evading a direct reference to the said orders, Paswan said that most problems would be resolved if religious organisations and political parties stopped interfering in each others domains.
"The day religious organisations stop protecting political parties and the day politicians or political parties stop interfering in the matters of faith, nearly 90 percent of the problems would be resolved. Trouble happens when controversies emerge due to politics," Paswan said.
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