Assam's BJP govt tables Bill to prohibit sale of beef in Hindu, Sikh, Jain areas

News Network
July 12, 2021

Guwahati, July 12: The BJP-led government in Assam on Monday tabled The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 in the state Assembly that seeks to prohibit the sale of beef in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and other non-beef eating communities.

It also seeks to disallow the sale of beef or beef products within a 5 km radius of temples, satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and other Hindu religious institutions.

In what could irk neighbouring states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, the bill proposes a prohibition on transportation of cattle from other states or to other states through Assam without permission.

The bill, tabled by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seeks to replace existing The Assam Cattle Preservation Act 1950 saying that the latter lacked stringent legal provisions to deal with the issues arising out of slaughter, consumption or transport of cattle. The bill was tabled on the first day of the first budget session of the Sarma government.

The 1950 Act allows the slaughter of cattle above 14 years of age with proper approval by a local veterinary officer. The new bill also retains the provision but allows the slaughter of cattle only in licenced or recognised slaughterhouses.

The new bill also seeks to enhance the quantum of punishment for violators of the new provisions to a jail term ranging between three and five years and a fine of Rs. 3 to 5 lakh or both. The 1950 Act has the penal provision of only six months jail and a fine of Rs. 1,000 only for the violators.

The new bill was approved by the state Cabinet on Thursday. Parliamentary affairs minister Piyush Hazarika on Thursday said the bill was prepared as per a promise of BJP ahead of Assembly elections held in March-April this year.

BJP and its allies formed their government in Assam for the second consecutive term. The saffron party replaced Sarbananda Sonowal with Himanta Biswa Sarma as the new Chief Minister, who has been waving the Hindutva flag more vigorously than Sonowal.

BJP ruled states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at present has similar cattle preservation act.

The new bill, however, says permission for transportation of cattle would be issued for bonafide agricultural or animal husbandry purposes only. No permission is also required for carrying cattle to and from registered agricultural markets for sale or purchase of the same within the district.

Although beef-eating Nagaland or Mizoram has not yet reacted to the proposed restriction for transportation of cattle through Assam, Meghalaya (also beef-eating) CM Conrad Sangma on Friday said the state would be compelled to seek the Centre's intervention in this regard. 

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
November 28,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 28: Karnataka Health Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday handed over Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the severe distress faced by farmers due to crashing crop prices.

PM Modi arrived at the Mangaluru International Airport en route to Udupi, where Gundu Rao welcomed him and submitted the letter. The chief minister’s message stressed that farmers are suffering heavy losses because maize and green gram are being bought far below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The state urged the Centre to immediately begin procurement at MSP.

According to the letter, Karnataka has a bumper harvest this year—over 54.74 lakh metric tons of maize and 1.98 lakh metric tons of green gram—yet farmers are unable to secure fair prices. Against the MSP of ₹2,400/MT for maize and ₹8,768/MT for green gram, market rates have plunged to ₹1,600–₹1,800 and ₹5,400 respectively.

The chief minister has requested the Centre to:

• Direct NAFED, FCI and NCCF to start MSP procurement immediately.
• Ensure ethanol units purchase maize directly from farmers or FPOs.
• Increase Karnataka’s ethanol allocation, citing high production capacity.
• Stop maize imports, which have depressed domestic prices.
• Relax quality norms for green gram, allowing up to 10% discoloration due to rains.

The letter stresses that MSP is crucial for farmer dignity and income stability and calls for swift central intervention to prevent a deepening crisis.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

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New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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