Terming the lynching of a man in Dadri over rumours that he had eaten beef as "wrong and unfortunate", Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan on Monday said the issue should not be given communal colour and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to take strict action against cow slaughtering.
Balyan, who hails from Muzaffarnagar in western UP and is the minister of state for agriculture, said the incident is not linked to communalism but it is a social issue concerning emotions of the Hindu community.
"The issue should not be linked to communalism and to any party base. Whatever happened was wrong and unfortunate. But why such incidents happen? Look at any districts in the state, cow slaughter houses are set up at every place. The UP government has not been able to take effective action," he said on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.
The UP government should take effective actions, he added. Asked if he supported a communal flavour being given to the incident, Balyan said: "I don't agree to it. I don't want to link this issue with communalism. This is a social issue and is attached to the emotions of the Hindu community. It is better to see the issue from this angle."
"Cow slaughter is banned in UP. It should be banned. If cow slaughtering is being done, the state government should take strict action," he said. On whether cow slaughter ban is on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda, Balyan said, "It is not the BJP's agenda. This is an issue of the whole Hindu community. Don't link this issue with the BJP."
Last week at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, Iqlakh, 50, was lynched and his son injured by a mob after rumours that he had eaten beef.
