New Delhi, August 11: The Cabinet today approved two proposals which would give the BJP much to tom-tom about in the run-up to the Assembly elections. At a hastily-called meeting, the Cabinet okayed a Bill banning cow slaughter throughout the country and another granting statehood to Delhi.

Sources said it had earlier been decided that no Cabinet meeting would be held until August 15. With not much working days left before Parliament’s monsoon session concludes on August 22, it was decided to push these Bills in the current session itself, ahead of the state polls slated for November.


Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed to reporters later that both Bills would be introduced during the current session.

In another significant move, the Cabinet also approved a legislation to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent witnesses from turning hostile. A Bill to this effect will also be introduced this session.

‘‘Such witnesses who turn hostile should also face punishment. This is one of the highlights of the proposed Bill,’’ Sushma Swaraj said.

Prosecuting agencies have suffered major setbacks in a spate of high-profile cases with witnesses turning hostile in court.

The proposed legislation will make it compulsory for all statements by witnesses to be recorded before a magistrate instead of the police. But it’s the Bill on cow slaughter that’s being discussed most. The Bill proposes a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, making it binding on all states under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

As of now, there’s no ban on cow slaughter in Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

Sale of beef would become a cognisable but bailable offence and abetment of crime would also be a crime under the proposed law.

Smuggling of cows from one state to another and constitution of a permanent National Development Commission on Cows also feature in the amendment. Export of beef would also be banned.

The move would take cow slaughter into the Congress camp, forcing the latter to take a stand on an issue that has now snowballed into a secular versus non-secular forces.

The Bill would be brought under Entry 17 of the Concurrent list which provides for prevention of cruelty against animals, Swaraj said. Currently, the law is under Entry 15 of the State list which provides for preservation of animals and the states are free to pass laws under Article 252 (1) of the Constitution.

The Bill to confer statehood to Delhi was also a frontal strategy to woo voters ahead of the Assembly polls in Delhi in November.

Swaraj said the proposed Delhi Statehood Bill, 2003 would grant statehood to the entire national capital territory while keeping law and public order under the Centre’s purview.

The Centre would retain the power to issue directives to the state government on issues where differences between the two crop up and the state would have to abide by these directives, Swaraj said. Articles 239-a (A) and 239-a (B) of the Constitution, conferring Union Territory status to Delhi, would be done away with.