Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living today said, that the people have the right to choose their food but there should be some restriction with regard to animal slaughter.
“People can eat what they want. But, slaughtering (cattle) in public is not acceptable,” he said during an India Today interview.
For the first time, while speaking over the beef row, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar defended government’s ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets across the country.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Selling animals (for slaughter) has been banned” under the new rules as the number of “cattle is dwindling so fast”.
“It (the new regulation) is not denying somebody’s basic food,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said adding that it is aimed at doing what is “fair”.
He claimed “there were 85 types of cattle in Tamil Nadu. Now, there are only two or three types of cattle.”
“We need to address the issue. This kind of ban is (in place) not just in India. In Cuba, too, there is fine if you slaughter cattle.”
Referring to the Madras High Court’s observation that the regulation did not ban the slaughter of cattle, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Courts are fair and above politics. If something has come from the court we must honour.”
He further added, “I am in support of movement against cruelty to animals.”
When asked about Ayodhya issue, he said,”the (Ram) Temple must be built at Ayodhya with consensus. Both the communities should sit together and decide, we have been on this issue for too long. We should bring an end to it.”
“Majority of people want a temple there (at the disputed site in Ayodhya). A mosque can be built at another place,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar stated.
He supported UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement on Ayodhya’s temple construction. Uttar Pradesh CM had recently said that Ram temple issue should be resolved through dialogue.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “What Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did (by stressing the need for dialogue and consultation) was the right thing to do. It is a good thing that the UP CM has reached out to our Muslim community.”