MUMBAI, Aug. 14 -- Amid a backlash by Opposition leaders, as well as deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, over the ban on selling meat on Independence Day imposed by several municipal corporations in the state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday that the "directives issued by civic bodies was based on a similar order issued by the Congress government in 1988". On Tuesday, while Pawar opposed the ban, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had released a copy of a government resolution (GR) of 1988, which was issued when Sharad Pawar (who was with Congress at the time) was chief minister of the state. On Wednesday, Fadnavis said while BJP supports citizens' freedom of choice in food, the "ban is not the state government's decision, but has come from the municipal corporations of some cities". "The civic bodies have appraised me that the ban has been in practice for years, with the first GR being issued in 1988. Everybody has the right to live life as per the constitutional provision and the government does not want to interfere with it," said Fadnavis. BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye posted the GR on X, stating: "Aaditya Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT) and Jitendra Awhad (NCP-SP), who have been opposing the ban, should condemn Sharad Pawar (head of NCP-SP). Awhad and Thackeray were ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray government, which continued the ban. I however have no doubt that deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, known for his command of the administration, would very well know that this decision is not by the Mahayuti government." The row over meat ban erupted after the Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Corporation (KDMC) directed the closure of meat shops on August 15, which was followed by civic bodies of Malegaon, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur....