Days after she faced flak for stating that newly-sworn in ministers in the Maharashtra government had not yet started making money, state minister and Congress MLA Yashomati Thakur has said that touching a cow "drives away negativity".
On Sunday, the Women and Child Development Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government defended her remarks, saying touching any animal, including cows, feels one with compassion.
"Our culture says if you touch a cow, all negativity will go away," the Teosa MLA told a gathering in Amravati.
She told PTI on Sunday: "Cow is a sacred animal. Moreover, be it a cow or any other animal, touching them brings a feeling of love to us. What is wrong in what I said?"
Earlier, campaigning for the Vashim Zilla Parishad polls, she had said "we have just come to power, our pockets are not warm enough yet".
She had also said that voters may accept money from the Opposition but must vote for the Congress.
The Congress is one of the constituents in the Shiv Sena-led government, apart from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Haryana Congress MLA Surender Panwar Arrested By Probe Agency ED In Mining Case BJP Accuses Congress Of Inciting Violence Against PM Modi With 'Maut' And 'Hinsa' Remarks On Camera, Jagan Reddy's Party Member Hacked To Death On Busy Andhra Road The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide What Recovery Of Austrian Gun 'Steyr AUG' From J&K Terrorists Means After Retest, Haryana NEET Centre With Most Top Scorers Gave This Result... Triptii And Vicky Only Give Good News In Matching Versace Printed Looks 'When Biharis Are Doing So Well, Why Is Bihar Behind,' Asks Union Minister Bangladesh Blocks Roads, Internet; Army Deployed To Curb Protests Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.