To eat or not to eat: NCP slams Modi Govt for questioning food choices of people, Naidu retorts ‘it’s personal’

NCP on Friday slammed the Centre’s notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter and said the government cannot decide on what people eat in a democracy.

“This is a democracy. You (Centre) cannot decide what people eat,” NCP national secretary Narendra Verma told reporters in New Delhi.

“We are going to the people (in poll-bound NE states) and are appeal to them to give us the mandate,” he said.

In Modi Government’s defence, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that food choices are personal. “I am a strict non-vegetarian, no one ever has told me to stop eating anything; food is a personal choice,” Naidu said in New Delhi on Friday.

Read | Meghalaya Assembly unanimously passes resolution opposing Centre's notification on cattle trade for slaughter

The NCP leader, who was here to revamp party activities ahead of the 2018 assembly elections, also questioned the election promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on black money and jobs.

“Where is the black money? There is inflation in essential commodities and the government has failed to provide one crore employment every year. There is farmers’ crisis everywhere,” he said.

Stating that during the tenure of NCP chief Sharad Pawar as agriculture minister at the Centre farm loans of Rs 68,000 crore were waived, Verma said Praful Patel as aviation Minister had also contributed a lot by improving connectivity and common man could travel in airlines.

“Farmers demand is waiving off of loans and a good price for their produce. But that is not happening and there are agitations and suicides,” he said.The NCP leader also lambasted the ruling Congress in Meghalaya for failing the people of the state.

“The Meghalaya government could have performed better but they have not. Governance and development has not happened. People are disappointed and are looking for alternatives,” Verma said.

NCP is supporting the ruling Congress in Meghalaya though its state president Sanbor Shullai was shunted out of the deputy speaker’s post last year.

Verma, who is in charge of the north east, said the party would contest in all the 60 seats in the 2018 assembly election scheduled for early next year.

Read | Beef fests held in Kerala to protest ban on cattle sale for slaughter

The NCP leader said the party’s state level convention will be held in the first week of July which will be addressed Pawar and Patel. “We want to give a good government here. In the coming months, the NCP will gear up and there is good response from the people.”

The NCP has two MLAs in the house of 60. An independent MLA Saleng A Sangma, who was formerly in the Congress has indicated that he would join the party soon.