The Jain community in Mira-Bhayander on Saturday sat on a two-hour fast and chanting of sacred text and songs to protest against the politicization of the meat ban issue.
Around 700 Jains gathered outside the Bavan Jinalaya Jain temple where the chanting began at 11am. A number of Jain monks and nuns joined the chanting.
The community has objected to the remarks in Sena mouthpiece Saamna warning Jains not to impose their vegetarian code on other communities. The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) had imposed an eight-day ban on the slaughter and sale of meat in the region. The ruling BJP had moved the proposal.
Following public outcry and political pressure the ban was reduced to two days as allowed by the state government during the Jain fasting period of Paryushan.
Temple priest Acharya Sagarchandra Sagar Surishwar said that Jains have been an integral part of Mumbai and have made immense contribution to the development of the city. He said that when a proposal for eight-day meat ban was won by way of voting in the MBMC it was undemocratic to scrap the proposal.
Community members peacefully chanted for about an hour, visited the temple and left.