New Delhi: Congress MP and former Union Minister KC Venugopal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to “check” the “unjustifiable and rigid stand” taken by his cabinet colleague Maneka Gandhi in dealing with the growing stray dog menace in Kerala. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Alappuzha MP criticised the Union Women and Child Development Minister, who is stalling Kerala government’s move to kill “dangerous stray dogs, which create threat to the life of common people” calling it as “unlawful and unscientific”.
A day after a 90-year-old man was killed in stray dog attack in the state, he urged the PM to “clarify” the stand of the Union government in the matter. He asked whether the Union government values human life or the dangerous animals which threatens humans. “I would request the government to clarify the stand of the central government in this issue and remove all confusions in this regard. The public in Kerala is in anger and they need a solution in this matter as soon as possible.”
Venugopal said Maneka Gandhi has stated that Kerala Anti-Social (Prevention) Act (KAPA) should be used against those who kill stray dogs, “which has drawn wide criticism in the state where stray dogs have become a major menace.” “I would also request the Prime Minister to take a favourable stand in this matter and to check the unjustifiable and rigid stand taken by the union Minister of Women and Child development,” the letter said.
He said repeated incidents of stray dog attacks in Kerala have created “utter panic and apprehension” among the people in the state. “The attack by dangerous stray dogs has been happening on a daily basis in various parts of the state.There are reported incidents of stray dogs’ attacks on infants, children, old age people and pets,” he said. He said following repeated stray dog attacks, there is strong demand from the public in the state to kill dangerous stray dogs.