Questions raised over the double standards of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with regard to cow protection after the Shantanu issued pass for the beef Transportation.
Team Clarion
KOLKATA – Union Minister Shantanu Thakur issued a pass to a local resident for transporting three kg of beef at the border areas of West Bengal, reveals a letter that surfaced on social media.
On Monday, TMC MP Mahua Moitra put out the letter signed by Thakur, who is minister of state for Ports, Shipping, Waterways, in the name of the Company Commando on 2 July. The letter asked the Border Security Forces to allow the particular man to transport 3 kg beef.
Describing it as “smuggling”, Moitra tagged Union Home Minister Amit Shah while calling out cow vigilantes and pro-government media.
Riju Dutta, TMC Spokesperson, also took a dig at the cow vigilantism carried out by Hindutva leaders in the name of beef.
“BJP Minister is smuggling the meat of “Gau Mata”, will the self declared custodians of Hindutva & Sanatan Dharma address this issue? Where are the Gau Rakshaks Now?,” asked Dutta.
“This is a matter of National Security &@HMOIndia should launch a probe & investigate. But will it do so against one of their own? BJP Minister is enabling cross border smuggling will @PMOIndia address it or keep mum as usual?,” he added.
There were also other people who raised questions over the double standards adopted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with regard to beef and cow protection.
Journalist Anuradh Raman while posting on X said, “A genuine question: can BJP netas facilitate beef trade and also keep their silence when Muslims and dalits are lynched for the same, sometimes on mere suspicion, by vigilante groups owing allegiance to the party?”.
Thakur has accepted the fact that he had issued the pass for beef transportation and defended his action.
“It is unfortunate that Mahua Moitra doesn’t know the ground realities at the border. The letter was issued for a person from the Hakimpur area of Swarupnagar where BSF regulates the movements of people and carrying commodities of daily use. They frisk people and allow them to carry items only that have recommendations of local gram panchayat members. But since most of the gram panchayat bodies are controlled by Trinamool, its members don’t issue such recommendations to the political rivals. So I issued a recommendation letter, which is not passed to smugglers,” he said at a press conference.
A BSF official also defended Thakur saying that the public representatives are authorised to issue passes.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior BSF official said that public representatives, including panchayat and ward members, and councillors, routinely issue such passes and trade permits for residents of Hakimpur and Tarali in North 24 Parganas, located ahead of the BSF check post but on Indian territory.
