Akhil Gogoi rallies supporters against Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021

JONAI: Outspoken peasant leader and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi today rallied his supporters against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government's Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 which puts obstacles in the process of selling off cattle.

A gathering -- numbering in the hundreds -- led by Gogoi sloganeered against the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill in the Mishing community dominated Jonai.

Making an address, Gogoi commended the people of Jonai for protesting against the bill: "To harm Muslims and Christians in the of Hindu religion, the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill that was tabled by Himanta Biswa Sarma has found little opposition, apart from the people of Jonai."

Akhil Gogoi also sounded against the lockdown saying it has "affected the personal economy of the people", adding that people are afraid of voicing against the BJP-led government out of fear of being locked up.

The 'Raijor Dal' supremo said that if the government does not roll back the bill, all cow rearers should deposit the bovines in front of the CM's house in Dispur.

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Akhil Gogoi's allegiances have been questioned after he reportedly joined a closed-door meeting with Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika at Assam House in Delhi on Sunday. On the other hand, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has claimed Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi an agent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is trying to break the Grand Alliance.

Amid a walkout staged by the Opposition, the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 — which prohibits the sale and purchase of beef in areas inhabited by non-beef-eating communities and within a radius of 5 km of a temple or a satra (Vaishnavite monastery) — was passed in the state Assembly Friday on the last day of the 2021 Budget session.

The new legislation will repeal the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950 and is aimed at regulating “slaughter, consumption, illegal transportation” of cattle. It also prohibits the inter-state transport of cattle to and from, as well as through Assam without valid documents — a clause that was included ostensibly to check cattle smuggling to Bangladesh, which shares a 263-kilometer-long border with Assam.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has termed the passing of the Bill as “historic”.

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