Days after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Maneka Gandhi’s scathing remarks about International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) that it sells “all its cows to the butchers” raked controversy, the religious organisation has issued a statement terming it “unsubstantiated and false information”. The statement expressed surprise at Maneka’s remarks, stating that she is “a well-known animal rights activist and well-wisher of ISKCON”.
In a video interview given to animal rights activist Dr Harsha Atmakuri, Maneka spoke about the state of dairy farming in the country today. Criticising the government’s programmes to double milk production by 2025, she said that dairy farming should be shut down as it is “impossible for the industry to be compassionate towards animals''. She took the example of ISKCON's dairy farms to explain her argument.
“The biggest cheater in India today is ISKCON. They establish gaushalas, to run which they get unlimited benefits from the government. They get huge lands, everything! I just visited their Anantapur gaushala. Not a single dry cow is present, all are dairies. Not a single calf is there, which means all of them were sold. ISKCON is selling all its cows to the butchers. No one else does as much as they do. Probably no one has sold as many cattle to the butchers as they did. If these people can do it, what about the others?” she said. A 54-second-long video clip of this has been circulated on social media.
Responding to the viral video clip, ISKCON said, “[We have] pioneered cow protection in many parts of the world where beef is a staple diet. Within India, ISKCON runs more than 60 Goshalas protecting hundreds of sacred cows and bulls and providing personalised care for their entire lifetime. Many of the cows presently served in ISKCON goshalas were brought to us after being found abandoned, injured, or rescued from being slaughtered.”
Posting its statement on social media, ISKCON India Director of Communications & National Spokesperson Yudhistir Govinda Das said, “The cows and bulls are served for their life not sold to butchers as alleged.” He also wrote, “While Smt Gandhi has stated to have visited the Goshala, none of the workers or staff recollect seeing/meeting her.”
He shared other documents including a letter purportedly from a veterinary doctor regarding the Anantapur Goshala that is maintained by ISKCON based on which Maneka made the observations. The letter signed by Dr G Padmanabham said that he used to visit the goshala when he was posted in Anantapur. “I am extremely pleased to see their respect for cows, they are treating cow as a member of their family, not as an animal,” the letter said.
Yudhistir also shared letters by Anantapur MP Talari Rangaiah and MLA Anantha Venkatarami Reddy attesting to the good conduct of the goshala.
Dr Harsha Atmakuri, who interviewed Maneka, was promoting his documentary film Maa Ka Doodh - Uncovering A Nation's Dairy Disaster. The film’s description says it is about “a doctor turned documentarian, who quits his job and embarks on an investigative journey across India to find out if there is indeed a link between the nation’s massive dairy consumption and its beef exports.”