Beef row: NGO protests against intolerance

Amidst the row centred on beef in the country, an NGO here organised a protest today which saw the participants, among them a former West Bengal minister and an ex-mayor of the city, consume the meat at a public space.
The protest programme was convened by city-based NGO 'Bhasa O Chetana Samiti' (Language and Awareness Committee) and was attended by leaders and representatives from different walks of life.
The participants included former state minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah, ex-Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and writer Subodh Sarkar.
"A section is keen on getting benefits by disrupting peace and communal harmony in the country. We condemn it and, therefore, came for this protest," said Mollah.

Bhattacharya, who is a prominent CPI-M leader, said that the programme was held to protest against the growing intolerance in the country.
Sarkar said, "People today consumed beef at a public space to protest against interference with their food habits."

Samiti General Secretary Imanul Haque told PTI that the programme was organised to condemn the recent Dadri lynching incident in Uttar Pradesh and the murder of eminent Kannada rationalist MM Kalburgi. He also condemned the Kerala House beef row that sparked a controversy.
Haque said that 95 per cent of the participants at the protest were Hindu.
Meanwhile, even as the organisers claimed they had sought permission from police for the programme, law and order officials refused to accept that claim.

However, the protest programme faced no disruptions.