First there was Sadhvi Saraswati’s remarks that beef eaters should be hung, then was Goa Transport Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar’s statement that his party will not keep quiet if cows are harmed. After that there were a series of attacks and killings of “beef eaters” across the country, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi said killing people in the name of protecting cows is unacceptable.
With the number of crimes against “beef eaters” on the rise across the country, will it be a matter of time before the conflicts boils over in Goa?
Goa Transport Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar recently said that his party, a partner in the BJP-led government in the state, will not keep quiet if cows are harmed.
The comments of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader comes in the wake of Sadhvi Saraswati’s remarks that the beef eaters should be hanged during a meet of various Hindu outfits in Goa.
“Gau mata ko kucch bhi hua to hum awaz uthayenge, nahi to nahi (If any harm is caused to cow then we will raise our voice, otherwise not),” Dhavalikar said.
Earlier, Sadhvi Saraswati while attending a conclave of various Hindu outfits in Goa had said those who eat beef should be hanged in public.
Saraswati, president of Sanatan Dharma Prachar Seva Samiti of Chhindwara in MP, also likened eating beef to “eating one’s own mother.”
“I would recommend the Government of India that those who consider it as a status symbol to eat the meat of one’s own mother should be hanged in public. Then only people will realise that it is our duty to protect ‘gau mata’,” Saraswati had said.
The State government has in the past been vary of such individuals and have banned the likes Mangalore-based Hindu outfit Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik from entering Goa since 2014.
On Friday, the North Goa district administration extended the ban on Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik entry into Goa for 60 more days with effect from June 30.
“The step has been taken to prevent every possibility of disturbance to law and order and danger to public safety due to their aggressive statements or speeches that could hurt the sentiments of certain groups of the public and instigate violence, thus adversely affecting public peace and tranquility,” the order issued by North Goa District Magistrate Nila Mohanan said.
The days, weeks, months and years ahead, will define whether Goa will continue to be the melting pot of various cultures or fall prey to groups that enforce their ideologies on others.
Sources: Indian Express | Business Standard | The Hans India
