Nitin Gadkari and (right) Siraj Uddin Qureshi, the president of a meat traders’ association, at the meeting in New Delhi. Picture by Yasir Iqbal

New Delhi, Aug 26: The Narendra Modi government today promised meat traders help by easing transportation rules and taking steps to stop harassment by police and activists, calming fears sparked by the BJP mascot’s poll-season remarks against “pink revolution”.

Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari today said he had approved some of the demands of the Qureshis, large numbers of whom are engaged in the business.

“I have signed the files approving the demands of the community and I will support them in their business wherever needed,” Gadkari said, speaking at a meeting of All India Jamiatul Quresh (AIJQ), an association of the Qureshis. Around 40 per cent of the five-crore strong group is involved in meat trading and allied businesses.

The meeting was attended by around 500 people, mostly butchers, meat traders, owners of slaughterhouses and transporters. Gadkari’s assurances came four months after Modi, then a prime ministerial candidate, accused the Congress-led UPA government of promoting a “pink revolution” by subsiding slaughterhouses and promoting meat exports through tax breaks.

The measures Gadkari referred to today include ensuring easy movement of livestock and limiting interventions by animal rights NGOs.

Gadkari has made it mandatory for states to amend rules to ensure vehicles used to transport livestock bear specifications to ensure unhindered movement.

He has also approved appointment of mobile magistrates to issue challans to suppliers or farmers caught for overloading, the move aimed at checking harassment and confiscation of livestock.

“There is no provision for confiscating our animals in any law. Both the police and animal rights activists take away the animals and then when our men go back to get them, they are not there. I presume they are sold. If there are mobile magistrates, action can be taken then and there. This confiscation costs the industry around Rs 50 crore annually,” said Siraj Uddin Qureshi, president of the Qureshis’ forum.

The AIJQ said the industry’s annual turnover was Rs 2 lakh crore.

At the end of his speech, Gadkari appealed to the community not to be scared of the BJP. “There are some people in this country who have kept the Muslim community scared of the BJP. How else will they get your votes?” the minister said.