The government is unlikely to bring in the proposed central legislation banning cow slaughter across the country in the first half of this Budget session, senior Cabinet minister rediff.com on Wednesday.

The legislation is being seen as a tactical step on part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to take on the anti-cow slaughter plank adopted by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh. Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls in the next round of assembly elections due later this year.

"The legislation may not be brought in due to paucity of time in the first half of this session," the minister said. "Moreover, the bill is to be first cleared by the Cabinet and then notified through the ministry of parliamentary affairs before being brought into the House. And since the Cabinet has not yet taken up the issue it is all the more unlikely that the legislation would be introduced in this half of the session."

The Lok Sabha, which would have its one-month long Budget session recess by mid-March to hold committee level discussions, is flooded with business in the first half.

Three days -- February 23, 24 and 27 – have been earmarked to discuss and reply the motion of thanks to President A P J Abdul Kalam's address. The Rail Budget would be presented on February 26 followed by the discussion on the Ayodhya issue.

The economic survey is listed for February 27, and February 28 fixed for the general Budget. Routine legislative business, discussion on the situation in Uttar Pradesh and the Prevention of Terrorism Act may take up the rest of the half.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra urged the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to clarify as to whether she stood by the proposal made by Digvijay Singh to ban cow slaughter.

The Madhya Pradesh chief minister had recently forwarded a representation seeking a central ban on cow slaughter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Malhotra also accused the Congress of toeing a "double strategy" on the issue recalling that the past Congress governments did not fulfil its promise made to Acharya Vinobha Bhave to ban cow slaughter.