The Legislative Assembly on Wednesday adopted the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, that has stringent penal provisions ranging from imprisonment of three to seven years and penalty of ₹50,000 to ₹7 lakh for violations.
The Bill was adopted without any discussion amidst dharna by the Opposition Congress and Janata Dal (S) members who argued that the proposed legislation had been tabled in the House much against the decision of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) to desist from taking up any new Bills in the ongoing session as its duration was being curtailed.
The hasty adoption of the Bill created a furore, with Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah declaring that his party would boycott the legislature session itself while the JD (S) members staged a walkout.
Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri permitted tabling of the Bill on the grounds that the BAC had decided to allow any important Bills to be taken up, though the Opposition members sought time till the next day to participate in the debate as the copies of the Bill were provided to them only after tabling it.
