Ban on open sale of meat in Lucknow “upsets” Union minister

He is of the opinion that it should have been imposed after consulting the Union government and the Agricultural Research Council. And he has made no secret of it.

In a tweet which has got a wide circulation he said on Thursday, “I came to know that the Lucknow District Magistrate has banned sale of meat in the district. I request district magistrates to consult Govt of India & Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR ) before issuing any advisory on Coronavirus “. 

The administration has its own logic. It has been done to ensure that the virus does not spread to other areas. Seven suspected cases have been already detected in UP including six in Agra. 

The ban was imposed this morning and the minister’s reaction was known without much delay. He has different take on some other issues too. Take population control, for instance.

In April 2016, he had stated that the “population should be controlled by ensuring that people of all religions have the same number of children in their families” 

five months down the line he advised Hindus to produce more children.In January this year he raised a controversy by remarking that Indians eating beef outside the country was a “matter of concern”. 

In February last he had made another controversial remark: “India’s founding fathers made a mistake by not ensuring all Muslims were sent to Pakistan and that all Hindus were brought to India”. 

Not only has the district administration banned sale of meat and fish in open areas but asked for sanitization of cow shelters, hotels and restaurants.

While the suspects in Agra are believed to have come in contact with the COVID-19 (official name) in Delhi, the suspect in Lucknow is believed to have contracted the disease in Dubai.He has come back from there recently. All of them have been quarantined. 

Though the virus has spread to many countries, the WHO has not yet declared COVID-19 as pandemic.