JAMMU, May 28: Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple, while addressing media persons at Press Club Jammu today, strongly condemned the alleged statement regarding cow slaughter attributed to a BJP leader from West Bengal, stating that it has deeply hurt the emotions and sentiments of crores of Hindus across the country.
Dimple said that such remarks are unacceptable and demanded an immediate clarification from the Bharatiya Janata Party and RSS leadership before June 1. He warned that if the party fails to clarify its stand, Mission Statehood would call for a Jammu bandh in protest against the statement.
Demanding a public apology, Dimple urged the concerned leader to seek forgiveness from the people of the country for making remarks that, according to him, hurt religious sentiments. He further alleged that the BJP has failed to take a clear stand on the issue of cow protection despite repeatedly raising the matter in public discourse.
He also accused certain BJP-linked individuals of operating large beef factories under different names and claimed that the “real face” of the party had been exposed. Referring to statements made in the past regarding slaughterhouses, Dimple alleged that the BJP has politicized the issue of cow protection but has never officially declared the cow as the national animal or “national mother.”
Questioning the silence of the BJP leadership, Dimple appealed to Hindu, Muslim and Sikh organizations, along with political parties, Bar Association members, traders, transporters and civil society groups, to unite for imposing a nationwide ban on cow slaughter.
He praised sections of the Muslim community for what he described as a positive gesture of avoiding cow slaughter in future and urged the Central Government to declare the cow as the national animal of India and bring strict laws banning cow slaughter across the country.
Dimple said that the people of the country are now waiting to see whether the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister will take a decisive stand on the issue.