New Delhi, Sep 24 A fresh political storm has erupted after Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleged that the BJP was facilitating cow slaughter and claimed this was the reason India had emerged as the world's largest beef exporter.
The controversy began when Patwari on Tuesday accused the BJP government of removing all GST on beef and questioned the party's stand on protecting cows while allegedly encouraging beef trade.
"The BJP government has imposed a 0 per cent GST on beef... Why is a party that talks about worshipping Mother Cow imposing zero tax on beef? Is this not the BJP's double face?" he said.
The BJP swiftly rejected the allegations, maintaining that cow slaughter was strictly banned in India.
Madhya Pradesh Minister Aidal Singh Kansana told IANS, "The entire nation knows that our government can never allow cow slaughter. The one party which respects cows is the BJP. He (Patwari) should be ashamed to level such allegations."
BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain also hit back, stating, "Jeetu Patwari makes baseless statements. People even misrepresent buffalo meat as beef. Many try to spread misinformation about beef export. India does not export cow meat. In our country, cow slaughtering is banned, and no one dares to kill a cow."
Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma further argued that GST rules were not limited to one party's decisions but included policies agreed upon by multiple states.
"In Madhya Pradesh, there is a strict law for the protection of cows. In cases of crimes like cow slaughter or attempts to transport cows with the intention of slaughter, around 20–22 butchers are still behind bars. No one was allowed to kill cows earlier, no one is allowed to do so now, and no one will be allowed to do so in the future," he told IANS.
Patwari had claimed India's record beef exports had grown under the BJP's central and state governments.
"The BJP facilitates the slaughter of cows. And all records of this were broken in the Narendra Modi regime. Where is all this meat coming from? If beef from India is being exported, then where is it coming from when there's a BJP government at the Centre and in the states?" he had said.
Quoting data, Patwari had mentioned, "In the 2024-25 financial year (till October), Indore ranked first with beef exports worth Rs 9,387.60 crore, followed by Dhar with Rs 8,338 crore, Raisen with Rs 4,330.4 crore, Singrauli with Rs 2,402.7 crore, and Sehore with Rs 2,195.8 crore. Dewas exports were worth Rs 2,045.2 crore, Ujjain Rs 1,185.7 crore, Bhind Rs 9,276.6 crore, Bhopal Rs 8,499.9 crore, and Morena Rs 7,746.6 crore."
The remarks drew support from Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Surendra Rajput, who echoed Patwari's charge of "double standards."
Speaking to IANS, Rajput said, "The BJP government worships cows in the North while allowing people to eat beef in several south Indian and Northeastern states. Why are they not imposing GST on beef? On one hand, they kill people for cow slaughter, while on the other hand, their leaders like Kiren Rijiju and Pema Khandu openly admit to consuming beef. Jitu Patwari is absolutely right."
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