Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Sanjeev Balyan, has said that the Dadri incident should not be linked with communalism.
Saying that communal colour should not be given to the mob attack that killed a 50-year-old man in Dadri over rumours that he had eaten beef, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan today termed the incident as "wrong and unfortunate".
"The issue should not be linked to communalism and to any party base. Whatever happened was wrong and unfortunate. But why such incidents happen? Look at any districts in the state, cow slaughter houses are set up at every place. The Uttar Pradesh government has not been able to take effective action," said Mr Balyan.
The minister, who hails from Muzaffarnagar district in the same region of western UP, also asked the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government to take strict action against cow slaughtering.
"Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh. It should be banned. If cow slaughtering is being done, the state government should take strict action," he said.
Asked if he supported a communal flavour being given to the incident, Mr Balyan said, "I don't agree to it. I don't want to link this issue with communalism. This is a social issue and is attached to the emotions of the Hindu community. It is better to see the issue from this angle."
On whether cow slaughter ban is on BJP's agenda, Mr Balyan said, "It is not BJP's agenda. This is an issue of the whole Hindu community. Don't link this issue with BJP."
Last week, Mohammed Akhlaq and his son, Danish, were attacked by a mob after rumours that he had eaten beef. The 50-year-old died, while Danish was badly injured.