Sunday, April 20, 2025

BJP pulls up its own over beef remarks

Date:

Share post:

New Delhi: Saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “upset”, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday pulled up five party leaders whose controversial remarks on beef have embarrassed it, informed sources said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party president conveyed Modi’s anguish in separate meetings he held at the party office here with the five, including Haryana Chief Minister M.L. Khattar, the sources said.
The others who faced Modi’s wrath were ministers Mahesh Sharma and Sanjeev Baliyan, Lok Sabha member Sakshi Maharaj and Uttar Pradesh legislator Sangeet Som.
Shah reportedly told them that the prime minister was “upset” with the kind of remarks they have made related to beef consumption in the wake of last month’s murder of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh.
The man, Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was dragged out of his house in Dadri area near Delhi and lynched by a mob following rumours that he killed a cow and ate beef. His son was also seriously injured.
Even as the killing ignited widespread condemnation, some BJP leaders made comments that appeared to justify the grisly murder.
The BJP leaders who met Shah, however, claimed they were not pulled up and that they had only discussed party matters.
But a party source pointed out that the only thread binding the five were their comments on beef and related issues.
After meeting Shah, Som said: “We … (discussed) party matters.”
Sakshi Maharaj said no “explanation” was sought from him and he gave none, and that he and Shah talked about upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Khattar, who stoked embarrassment by telling a newspaper that Muslims must give up eating beef if they wanted to live in India, also spoke on similar lines, saying his meeting with Shah was already scheduled.
The hardline views by some BJP leaders over beef and Muslims have come at a time when Modi is trying to woo voters in the Bihar assembly election.
The opposition wasn’t impressed by Shah’s admonition of his erring BJP colleagues.
Spokesmen for the Congress, Janata Dal-United and CPI called the Shah meeting a cosmetic exercise, and said it seemed to be a course correction amid the Bihar battle. (IANS)

Related articles

Andhra Pradesh issues notification to fill posts of 16,347 teachers

Amaravati, April 20: The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday released a notification for conducting a 'Mega District Selection...

Three killed as torrential rain, landslides wreak havoc in J&K’s Ramban

Jammu, April 20:At least three people were killed by a heavy hailstorm and multiple landslides in Jammu and...

Over 33,000 challans issued for vehicles without high-security number plates in Gurugram

Gurugram, April 20: The Gurugram Traffic Police intensified a crackdown on traffic violations, issuing 33,757 challans between April...

Murshidabad violence: Prime suspect in man-son murder to be produced in court today

Kolkata, April 20:Ziaul Haque, alias Chacha, the key conspirator in the murder of a man and his son...