Our Correspondent / AMN
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party today pulled up five party leaders whose controversial remarks on cow and beef have embarrassed the party internationally.
BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday called them to party office and reportedly told them that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “upset” over their remarks. Party president conveyed Modi’s anguish in separate meetings with the five, including Haryana Chief Minister M.L. Khattar.
The recent statements by some of its leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar, over beef issue has irked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, which is facing criticism over controversial remarks made by the party leaders following the Dadri lynching episode.
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.
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. Akhlaq’s family denied the allegation, saying he only consumed mutton.
Similar incident happened in Himachal Pradesh and some other places recently. Even as the killing ignited widespread condemnation, some BJP leaders made comments that appeared to justify the 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.
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 on a platform of development and oneness.
However, the Haryana chief minister later clarified that he was misquoted by the English daily. Mr Shah also met party MP Sakshi Maharaj who has given many controversial statements recently.
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.