A few days after a 55-year-old Pehlu Khan lost his life in Alwar after being brutally beaten by cow vigilantes who suspected him of smuggling cows to Haryana from Jaipur, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that “such an incident did not happen”.
After Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry, in Rajya Sabha, raised the issue of growing violence due to cow vigilantism and wrongly attacking the men who turned out to be dairy farm workers, Naqvi said:
This is a sensitive issue. A message should not go that we are supporting cow slaughter! Such an incident did not happen on the ground. The state govt has denied the report. But let this House not send a message that it supports cow slaughter.
His statement caused much furore in the House with the Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad lashing out at the leader saying, “The minister is so ill-informed… even the New York Times has written about the incident.”
‘Will Tell the World About Forgotten Freedom Fighters’
The Congress in the Rajya Sabha also accused the BJP-led government of “tampering” with the legacy and history of the freedom movement by introducing “other leaders” who had no role in it.
The government countered the charges levelled by Congress leader Anand Sharma, saying it was not only the Nehru and Gandhi families who had fought for India’s freedom, but there were scores of other leaders as well.
“We will show the history which you have hidden. We will also take forward what you have shown,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said countering Sharma's allegations.
He said the government will tell the world about the role of the forgotten freedom fighters and there was no intention to insult any of the great leaders of the country.
Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal said the social media and the media were presenting wrong facts about the salaries and perks of Members of Parliament and tarnishing their image.
Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, in a lighter vein, suggested to the SP leader to enter the social media to reply.
Naqvi said there was no control over anti-social activities on social media.
D Raja (CPI) said the fate of ordinance factories and thousands of their employees were at stake following the government’s decision to allow 100 per cent private participation in defence manufacturing.
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury highlighted the plight of chilli-growing farmers in Telengana saying they were not getting right prices for their produce after a bumper crop.
Another Congress MP Rajani Patil demanded farm loan waiver of Rs 30,000 crore for Maharashtra farmers in line with the Uttar Pradesh government's decision.
(With inputs from PTI)
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