Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane has proposed that Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha by displaying a goat picture on a computer and "virtually" sacrificing it. A BJP colleague immediately responded by suggesting Rane try eating paper instead of mutton and report back on how that feels.
With Bakrid 2026 arriving, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane offered the Muslim community an innovative theological-technological workaround: instead of the traditional animal sacrifice, devotees could simply pull up a picture of a goat on a computer screen and "virtually show it being sacrificed." Rane drew a straight line from his proposal to government campaigns for "dry Holi" and "cracker-free Diwali," apparently untroubled by the fact that his government has never actually enforced either. The suggestion went viral immediately, drawing a sharp rebuke from Haji Arafat Shaikh — a BJP leader from Rane's own party — who offered Rane a simple test: "Try eating paper instead of mutton, and see how that feels." The Maharashtra government, meanwhile, invoked the MCOCA anti-organized-crime law for cow-related violations around Eid. The ministry has not proposed a digital substitute for Holi bonfires.