Union Minister and senior BJP leader Raosaheb Danve landed in trouble on Wednesday after a video — in which he is reportedly telling a Muslim gathering that no one would stop them from undertaking slaughter of cow progeny — went viral on social media.
Campaigning for his son Santosh Danve who is contesting the State Assembly polls on a BJP ticket from Bhokardan in Jalgaon district in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, Danve is heard as telling a Muslim gathering: “For the first time when ban on the slaughter of cow progeny was imposed and that too at the time of Bakri-Id, some people from here came to me and told me they were not being allowed to slaughter the animal as a sacrifice during the festival. I told them: As long as Raosaheb Danve is there, no one will stop you from slaughtering”.
The video is of part of the speech that Danve purportedly delivered at the Muslim-dominated area of Katora Bazar in Bhokardan on October 19, the last day of campaigning for the State Assembly polls held on October 21.
Danve is also heard saying: “there is illegal business of rice and sandalwood here (in Bhokardan). Should I stop it? I can stop it in just one day”.
After the video went viral, Danve in a statement clarified that the video had been “doctored” and he had not made any statement relating to cow slaughter. "I would like to clarify that I have made no such comment regarding cow slaughter and the video that is being shared online is manipulated to convey a wrong message in the society," the minister said in his statement.
Meanwhile, one Nitesh Oza lodged a complaint with the police at Sangli in western Maharashtra against Danve. In his complaint, Danve alleged that Danve had hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community and demanded that a FIR be registered against the minister for his purported remarks.
In a related development, NCP’s Mumbai unit president and party’s state spokesperson Nawab Malik demanded that Danve be arrested for advising the people to break the law.
“Danve is playing the religious sentiments of the people by advising and encouraging the people to break the law against cow slaughter. Hence, the police should register an FIR and arrest him,” Malik said.
“On one hand, Muslim community members are being targeted and mob lynched in the name of cow slaughter. On the other, a minister is telling Muslim community members to undertake cow slaughter. If we have such a Minister in our midst, we can realise what is happening in the country,” the NCP spokesperson said.