South Delhi Mayor calls for shutting down meat shops during Navratri, says 'offensive' to Hindus

New Delhi: South Municipal Corporation's (SDMC) Mayor Mukesh Suryan has demanded that all meat shops should remain closed in Delhi during the period of Navratri; 2-11 April. The Mayor's demand comes after a discussion in SDMC's standing committee regarding the cleanliness and regulations of meat shops in Delhi.

Suryan in his letter claims that the meat shops in Delhi are offensive to Hindus who are observing the 9 day long festival. In his letter, he wrote, "During Navratri days, people visit temples to pay their respect to the Goddess and to seek blessings for themselves and their families. In these days, people forgo even use of onion and garlic in their diets and the sight of meat being sold in open or near temples makes them uncomfortable. Their religious belief and sentiments are also affected when they come across meat shops or when they have to bear with the foul smell of the meat on their way to offer their daily prayers to the Goddess."

The Mayor claimed that this demand was made keeping the "public opinion" in mind, however, he did not specify how he concluded that the citizens of Delhi are in favour of such an action.

Suryan wrote, "Keeping in view the sentiments & feelings of the general public, necessary directions may be issued to the officers concerned to take necessary action for the closure of meat shops during the nine day period of the Navratri festival extending from 2nd April 2022 to 11th of April 2022."

A meat shop owner in Lajpat Nagar raised an objection to this letter and said, "Will he compensate us for the lost business if we close our shops?" The shop owner added that there are several other customers in Delhi who do not observe Navratri and the Mayor should keep that in mind.

SDMC's Leader of Opposition Prem Chauhan echoing similar sentiments stated, "Mukesh Suryan ji should understand that many people earn their livelihood this way, they feed their children and families through their shops. Also, the Mayor is forgetting that there are people who don't observe Navratri and if we are going to impose our practices on them, then tomorrow Muslims can also say everyone should celebrate Eid and rightfully so. Imposing these practices is unfair, anyone who wants to eat (meat) will eat and anyone who doesn't can avoid it on their own."

SDMC's Standing Committee discussed the matter of regulations and cleanliness regarding meat shops during its latest meeting in areas under their jurisdiction and BJP councillors had suggested the shutting down of a few shops during the discussion.