Beef row: Bernard debate challenge to Kohli

SHILLONG: BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli has another debate challenge to handle and this time it has come from none other than the party’s former leader from Garo Hills, Bernard N. Marak.
Marak has invited Kohli to join a debate on “beef ban”.
“I publicly challenge him (Kohli) to come down to Garo Hills and debate on the stand of BJP on beef ban. Let’s see how dynamic and comfortable he is to debate with me in front of the Garo Hills crowd,” he added.
Referring to the statement of Kohli where he mentioned that beef ban is not mentioned in the notification, Bernard said the statement “is absurd because cow becomes beef only after slaughter, which is specifically banned in the notification”.
Kohli had said on Tuesday that both Bernard Marak and Bachu Marak, another Garo leader who quit over the beef controversy, were ticket aspirants but the party did not consider them as winning candidates.
Reacting to this, Bernard said Kohli was wrong to say they were contenders for the 2018 elections and the BJP in charge of Meghalaya betrayed him in GHADC polls by not issuing him a ticket, but he continued working for the party.
On Tuesday’s reshuffle, he said BJP state president Shibun Lyngdoh has made another mistake by violating the BJP constitution and appointing presidents where there were already elected presidents of West Garo Hills, South West Garo Hills and East Garo Hills.
‘5,000 youths leave party’
Youth president of BJP from Tura, Wilver Greham Danggo Tura who quit the party on Wednesday claimed that as many as 5,000 youth workers resigned along with him due to the Centre’s notification on cow slaughter.