Mumbai: A meat ban was imposed in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Independence Day and Janmashtami.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation announced three days ago that all shops, slaughterhouses and outlets selling meat within city limits will be closed on both days (August 15 and 20).
To protest against the local civic body’s decision, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Imtiaz Jaleel organised a ‘biryani party’ at his residence on Friday.
“I have cooked chicken biryani along with a vegetarian dish. If the municipal commissioner comes and asks for vegetarian food, I will offer it to him. But the government should not tell us what we should eat and what we should not,” Jaleel said.
15 अगस्त को सभी मीट और चिकन की दुकानें बंद रखने का तुगलकी फरमान जारी करने वाले सभी नगर निगम आयुक्तों को 15 अगस्त को दोपहर 1 बजे मेरे आवास पर आयोजित चिकन बिरयानी और मटन कोरमा पार्टी में शामिल होने का निमंत्रण। महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री श्री @Dev_Fadnavis भी इस अवसर पर उपस्थित… pic.twitter.com/kFQ8etEFgf
— Imtiaz Jaleel (@imtiaz_jaleel) August 14, 2025
Calling the meat ban decision as “unfortunate”, the leader from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party said such things should be stopped.
“There are few over-enthusiastic municipal commissioners who issued these orders to make the government happy… Muslims have only two festivals (Ramzan and Bakri Eid). Will the government shut the liquor shops on these two festivals of the Muslim community?” Jaleel further asked.
On Thursday, Jaleel extended an invitation to all Municipal Corporation commissioners to “join the Chicken Biryani and Mutton Korma party organised at my residence at 1 pm on August 15.”
Owaisi slams meat ban, calls out Fadnavis
Owaisi also slammed the Hyderabad municipal body’s ban on meat sales, calling it ‘callous and unconstitutional’.
“What’s the connection between eating meat and celebrating Independence Day? 99% of Telangana’s people eat meat. These meat bans violate people’s right to liberty, privacy, livelihood, culture, nutrition, and religion,” Owaisi said in a post on X.
He also called out Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not directing the municipal commissioner to withdraw the order.
Not just Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, municipal corporations in Nagpur, Nashik and Malegaon also issued similar orders, triggering protests over personal freedom.
The BJP argued that the policy of closing meat shops on Independence Day was first implemented in 1988 by then-CM Sharad Pawar.
