Senior Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan has hit out at the government of Kerala for not taking action against people who kill stray dogs in the state.
Said Bhushan to THE WEEK, “It is a violation of the law. It violates the order of the Supreme Court. This cannot happen.”
Recently, youth leaders of the Kerala Congress (Mani) in Kottayam killed many stray dogs, hung them by their legs on a pole, and marched on the road with the carcasses.
“I was hurt after seeing it. These people who are putting their cruelty on display are themselves cruel. It displays a vulgar inhumanity on the part of these people. How can they kill dogs in such a manner? The government and the police should prevent such incidents and prosecute the offenders.”
Bhushan said he had written a letter to the chief minister and the chief secretary and had been assured of action. “If this is how it goes, I would write to them again,” he said.
In fact Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said last month that no harmless stray dogs would be killed in the state.
Said senior Kerala Congress (M) leader and MP Jose K. Mani to THE WEEK, “Things are being blown out of proportion. Our party has never taken a decision to eliminate all stray dogs in the state. But what about the safety of the people? So many people are being killed by stray dogs in the state. What happened in Kottayam was a reflection of people’s anger. There are laws to protect stray dogs, but nobody cares for the people who are injured and killed by stray dogs.”
Said Suraj P., a veterinary surgeon in Kochi, “Most of the stray dogs that are killed are the innocent and harmless ones. Their killers don’t have the guts to harm the dangerous dogs.”