Last Update: May 18, 2023, 18:38 IST
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. (File photo/Twitter @mieknathshinde)
Vikhe Patil said that bullock cart race is a matter of sentiments in rural areas and also generates employment
The Maharashtra government on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the state’s amendment act allowing bullock cart races and said it would provide assistance for organizing these popular events.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of Amendment Acts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, allowing bull taming sport ‘Jallikattu’, bullock cart race and buffalo racing sport ‘Kambala’ in the three states respectively Was.
Maharashtra’s Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai has welcomed the decision.
“We will provide all help and cooperation to organize the bullock cart race,” he told reporters.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the amendment act was passed when he was the chief minister.
“We are extremely happy that the Act enacted by the state when I was the chief minister and a report submitted to the court confirming that the bull is a racing animal has been upheld by the apex court. This paves the way for organizing bullock cart races across the state,” he said.
He said BJP MLA Mahesh Landge and party’s Legislative Council member Gopichand Padalkar made special efforts to ensure a legal victory.
Revenue and Animal Husbandry Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said that the decision of the Supreme Court is a victory for the farmers.
He said in a statement that the 12-year-old legal battle was made possible by collective efforts and the state government led by Eknath Shinde played a key role in it.
Vikhe Patil said that bullock cart race is a matter of sentiments in rural areas and also generates employment.
In 2011 the race was banned. The Maharashtra government then came up with a law to restart the race, but the Bombay High Court stayed it. He said that the Supreme Court had refused to lift the ban while referring the matter to a larger bench.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,
