Several BJP lawmakers assaulted Independent lawmaker Engineer Rashid inside the Jammu and Kashmir assembly
Several BJP lawmakers pounced on Independent MLA, Engineer Rashid, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Thursday morning and thrashed him for hosting a beef party a day before.
Opposition lawmakers rescued Mr Rashid, who later said, "Some grabbed my arms, some my neck. They rained blows on my chest. Is this democracy?"
One of his attackers, Ravindra Raina, sounded equally agitated as he said, "Whoever disrespects Gau Mata (mother cow) will have to face this. Everyone knows the cow is sacred to Hindus." Mr Raina alleged that Mr Rashid provoked the BJP lawmakers by saying he would "host a thousand beef parties."
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed condemned the assault. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh of the BJP - which partners the Mufti's Peoples Democratic Party or PDP in governing Jammu and Kashmir - said he did not approve of what had happened, but also criticised Mr Rashid for serving beef to his guests on the lawns of Srinagar's MLA hostel on Wednesday. "Everyone eats there together," Mr Singh said.
An angry Omar Abdullah of the National Conference said Mr Rashid had done nothing to deserve a "murderous attack" on him.
"Alcohol is prohibited in my religion. Consumption of pork is prohibited... but that does not mean I should attack everyone who consumes alcohol or pork," the former chief minister said.
To the BJP, he said, "People who are pointing fingers at you for the Dadri incident - you proved it."
Last week, a
mob lynched a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumours that he had slaughtered a calf and eaten beef. The son of a local BJP leader is among those arrested for the man's murder.
Engineer Rashid has said his beef party only signalled that "no courts or legislature can prevent the people from eating what they want".
There has been massive controversy in Jammu and Kashmir after the state's High Court ordered the strict implementation of a law that bans beef.