Hyderabad may face beef ban if we lose civic polls: Asad Owaisi

A ban on consumption and sale of beef may be imposed in the city if AIMIM was not voted to power in the upcoming elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), party chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed today. "I am not trying to scare you. But, the fact is if we don't come to power, there may be a scope for ban on beef (in Hyderabad) on pretext of faith," the All-India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader said here. Addressing a public meeting ahead of the February 2 election to the 150-member civic body, the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad said such a ban will hit the poor and also beef traders hard as it happened in Maharashtra. "There is a ban on cow slaughter all over. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led Government brought a law to extend the ban on bulls and bullocks. Even if it (these animals) is ill you cannot slaughter it," Owaisi said. Due to this many people, who are earlier dependent on beef trade have lost their livelihood, he said. "If someone else comes to power (in GHMC), it (beef ban) may become a reality." It is the poor who cannot afford to eat mutton and they have to depend on beef, the MP added. AIMIM, a Hyderabad-based party, and Congress shared power in the municipal corporation in the last term.