Mulayam defending cow slaughter accused: BJP

Lucknow, May 27 (UNI) The Opposition BJP today charged the Samajwadi Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh with protecting people involved in cow slaughter to appease the minority community.

BJP state unit spokesperson Hriday Narain Dikshit told reporters here the state government was not allowing the police to impose the anti-cow slaughter legislation.

''Police fails to take action against people slaughtering cows following a secret directive from the political bosses,'' Mr Dikshit said.

He claimed in a recent incident in Meerut, 184 cows were slaughtered, but the police remained a mute spectator. ''It was the local populace which brought the matter before the police...still there was no action,'' he alleged.

He said the state government's attitude towards cow slaughter was aimed at appeasing the minority community at the cost of hurting the sentiments of the majority community.

Recently, a BJP MLA had raised the issue of cow slaughter in Ghaziabad in the just-concluded session of the state legislature and had charged that the local police was involved in the matter.

State parliamentary affairs Minister Mohd Azam Khan had assured action in the matter.

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