JD(S) to back anti-cow slaughter bill in Council: party MLC Basavarj Horatti
Bengaluru: Senior JD(S) MLC Basavarj Horatti on Thursday said his party will support the contentious anti-cow slaughter bill in the Karnataka Legislative Council, where it is yet to be tabled.
This is contrary to the regional party's earlier stand to oppose the bill.
Both JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, who is the legislature party chief, had repeatedly said they are opposed to the anti-cow slaughter bill.
"Now, theres no question of defeating the bill," Horatti told reporters in response to a question about JD(S) supporting the bill.
"Naturally, in the council whenever the government changes, its a question of the majority.If important bills are there, theyll be passed...JD(S) and the BJP have a total of 43 members (in the 75-member Council), so no question of defeating the bill.We will support the bill 100 per cent," he said.
This statement by Horatti about supporting the bill comes a day after JD(S) joined hands with the ruling BJP for the Legislative Council Chairman and Deputy Chairman post.
As per the arrangement, the BJP will support the JD (S) for the Chairman post, while the regional party will return the favour by ceding the Deputy Chairman post.
While Horatti will most likely be the JD(S) candidate for the Chairman post, BJP's nominee M K Pranesh today filed his nomination for the Deputy Chairman post.
According to sources, the ruling BJP agreed to support JD(S)' Horatti for Chairman post, in return for the regional party's support to its no-confidence motion to oust incumbent Chairman K Pratapachandra Shetty of the Congress and passage of certain key bills, including the land reforms bill.
The government last month had promulgated the anti- cow slaughter ordinance that provides for punishment for killing of cattle and offers protection to those "acting in good faith" to save them, as the bill to this effect is yet to be cleared by the Legislative Council.
Under the ordinance, slaughter of cattle will lead to imprisonment of up to 3 to 7 years and a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, and subsequent offences will attract imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
According to it, cattle is defined as a cow, calf of a cow, bull and bullock of all ages and 'he or she buffalo below the age of 13 years', while beef has been defined as the flesh of the cattle in any form.
The government had to opt for the ordinance route, as the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill that was passed by the Assembly last month amid din with stiff opposition from the Congress, has not yet been approved by the Legislative Council.
The Council was adjourned sine die even before the bill was tabled there for passage.
For a bill to become law, its passage in the Council, followed by assent by the Governor is necessary.
According to sources, BJP, which had hurriedly tabled the bill and ensured its passage in the Assembly during the winter session, did not table it in the Council sensing that the numbers were not in its favour with combined opposition- Congress and JD(S)- against it, and may refer it to the joint select committee.
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Nehru papers: Govt slams Sonia Gandhi, says such records belong in public archives
New Delhi (PTI) The government on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for keeping "51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers" and sought their return to Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML) so that scholars and Parliament can access the crucial historical records of 'Nehruvian' times, asserting that these documents "belong in public archives, not behind closed doors".
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in a post on X, also sought to clarify the Centre's written response in Parliament on December 15, and said, since the location of these papers is known, they are "not missing".
The clarification comes a day after Congress took a swipe at the Centre over its response in Lok Sabha to a query on documents related to the first prime minister.
"No documents related to India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have been found missing from the museum during the annual inspection of the PMML in the year 2025," Shekhawat had told Parliament in a written response to the query by BJP MP Sambit Patra.
After Nehru's death, the Teen Murti Bhawan in central Delhi became the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), housing a rich collection of books and rare records. The NMML was renamed Prime Ministers' Museum and Library in 2023.
The Nehru papers have been a contentious issue between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, and a section within the PMML has been pushing for "reclaiming" these papers, which were taken back by Sonia Gandhi several years ago.
Shekhawat, in his post on X, said Nehru papers are "not 'missing' from PMML". He added that the word 'missing' entails that the "whereabouts are unknown".
"In reality, 51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were formally taken back by the family in 2008 from the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (then NMML). Their location is known. Hence, they are 'not missing'," the Union minister said.
These papers were "handed over officially in 2008, on request", with records and catalogues maintained by PMML, he said.
Shekhawat said that scholars, researchers, students and citizens "have a right to access original documentary sources to arrive at a truthful and balanced understanding" of Jawaharlal Nehru's life and times.
"On one hand, we are being asked not to debate the blunders of that era. On the other, primary source material that could enable informed debate is kept out of public access.
"This contradiction cannot be ignored. This is no ordinary matter. History cannot be curated selectively. Transparency is the foundation of democracy and archival openness is its moral obligation which Mrs Gandhi and the 'family' need to uphold," he argued.
Shekhawat, in his long post, further wrote, "What does require an answer is this: Why have these papers not been returned despite multiple reminders from PMML including the recent reminders in January and July 2025? The nation deserves clarity."
"I respectfully ask Sonia Gandhi ji to explain to the country: What is being withheld? What is being hidden? The excuses being given by Smt Sonia Gandhi for not returning these papers are not tenable. The point is that why are important historical documents still outside the public archive?
"These are not private family papers. They relate to the first Prime Minister of India and form part of our national historical record. Such papers belong in public archives, not behind closed doors," Shekhawat argued in his post.
He also responded on X on Wednesday to a post a day ago by Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh who wrote, "The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?"
Shekhawat said, "The truth placed before the Lok Sabha is clear and on record."
"The Nehru Papers were taken out in 2008, during the UPA period, when public institutions were often treated as family preserves. Smt. Sonia Gandhi herself has acknowledged in writing that these papers are with her and promised to 'co-operate' on the matter," he said.
"In fact it would be more appropriate for you to urge Sonia Gandhi to honour her commitment and return these papers to PMML so that scholars, citizens, and the Parliament can access these crucial historical records and the truth of 'Nehruvian' times can be examined objectively," he said.
PMML Society, the key decision-making body of the PMML, is helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its president, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the vice-president.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Culture, in a series of posts, said these documents, relating to the first prime minister of India, "form part of the nation's documentary heritage and not a private property".
"Their custody with PMML and access to citizens and scholars for research is vital," it said.
In the first post, it wrote, "On JN papers: Vide letter dated 29.04.2008 Shri M V Rajan, representative of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, requested that Smt. Gandhi wishes to take back all of the private family letters and notes of former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru.
"Accordingly, 51 cartons of Nehru Papers were sent to Smt. Sonia Gandhi in 2008."
The PMML has been in "continuous correspondence" with the office of Sonia Gandhi since then for return of these papers including the letters from PMML to her, dated 28-01-2025 and 03-07-2025," it said.
"Therefore, Nehru Papers are not 'missing' from PMML as their whereabouts are known," the ministry said.
