Turning the beef ban debate on its head, a BJP MP has cited the unprecedented success of star athlete Usain Bolt to make a case for beef consumption - an anathema to his own party and the Government at the Centre.
BJP MP Udit Raj created a flutter on Monday with a tweet that said that champion Jamaican athlete Bolt went on to win nine Olympics gold despite being born in poverty after his trainer advised him to eat beef twice a day.
“Usain Bolt of Jamaica was poor and trainer advised him to eat beef both the times and he scored 9 gold medals in Olympics,” the lok Sabha member from North-West Delhi tweeted.
The statement from the BJP's Dalit lawmaker stoked the ongoing controversy on beef ban and brought him in the line of fire of BJP supporters on social media.
later, Udit Raj tried to play down the controversy saying that he was not commenting on the ban but was merely repeated what Bolt’s trainer had said and all he meant was the athletes can find a way to excel despite adversities and they should not blame circumstances for failures.
“All I wanted to say is that giving excuses that we don't have infrastructure or there is corruption should be done away with and lesson, dedication should be learnt from Usain Bolt... What I wanted to say is our players should find ways and means as he found ways and means,” he said, adding there is no lack of facilities for sportspersons here.
The Government spends huge money on them compared to nations like Jamaica or Kenya, he said, steering clear of any mention of the beef ban.
In July, Udit Raj had slammed cow vigilante groups and their attacks on Dalits, saying, “The so-called protectors of the Hindu religion must answer if they consider lives of Dalits to be of less value than animals.”
Meanwhile, Union Minister and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale backed Raj on his beef eating comment.