Bangalore: The ruling Congress in Karnataka on August 16 opposed the Vajpayee government's move for bringing in a legislation to ban cow slaughter and said its implementation should be left to the individual states.

Contending that such a move would go against the federal spirit, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president B Janardhan Poojary told reporters that the North-Eastern states, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Triupra would not agree to implement the ban.

He also claimed that it would only strengthen the hands of extremists and communalists and said nobody could direct what people should or should not eat.

Poojary said some states were earning money through export of beef and states that feel it necessary, could implement the ban.

When told that the Madhya Pradesh government had banned cow slaughter, he said the Congress stand was that it should be left to the discretion of the individual states.

PTI