BJP leader who said Brahmins slaughtered cattle 'cow'ers down, retracts statement

Vamana Acharya, spokesperson of the Karnataka BJP and a doctor by profession was abused for rejecting the 'holy cow'.

"I do not want to stir controversy. I have retracted my statement and will now abide by whatever is the party's line," said Dr Vamana Acharya when OneIndia contacted him. The same man had just a couple of days ago rejected the idea of holy cow or Gomata. Vamana Acharya had also stated that Brahmins too slaughtered cows for consumption before India became an agrarian country, but retracted his remarks after facing flak from his own partymen.

Dr Vamana Acharya was invited as a panellist on a television channel's talk show. During the debate, he said that Brahmins had slaughtered cows. "Before India became an agrarian country, there are examples where all communities including Brahmins have slaughtered cows for consumption," he said. Acharya who is also the BJP spokesperson said that he did not subscribe to the idea of banning beef since cow was holy. "As a man of science, I cannot endorse cow either as holy or as a mother. I do not subscribe to the idea of banning beef because a cow is holy. I, in fact, welcome beef as a food choice for those who consume it," Acharya had said. Despite him making such claims in his personal capacity, BJP leaders and workers charged at Acharya.

Days after he expressed his views on beef, cow and slaughter, Acharya retracted the same and apologised for 'hurting sentiments'. "From the day he made such statements we have received severe backlash from own workers. People have continued to abuse him to this day. He has received many calls criticising his views," said a source from the BJP.

Senior leaders of the BJP like Go Madhusudhan, C T Ravi and Suresh Kumar distanced his statements from the party and lambasted Acharya.

OneIndia News