’Jahan gau vansh ki hatya hogi...’: Former BJP MLA links Kerala disasters to ’sins’ of cow slaughter

Former Rajasthan BJP Gyandev Ahuja stoked controversy as he linked the Wayanad landslide tragedy to "cow slaughter". In an interview, Ahuja said Kerala has been witnessing continuous landslides, floods and earthquake since 2018. He linked such disasters in the state to cow slaughter.

He said Kerala is witnessing disasters because “jahan gau vansh ki hatya hogi, jan gaaye ka khoon girega, wahan zalzale aayenge bhukamp ayenge toofaan ayenge [Tremors and earthquakes will happen in areas where cows are killed and their blood is spilt].”

The former BJP MLA went on to say that the cloudburst happened in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh too, but the number of deaths in Kerela's Wayanad was higher.

In the interview, he also urged the Kerala government to stop cow slaughter. He said landslides and cloudbursts are bound in states where such "sins" – of cow slaughter and killing of cows – happen.

Over 300 people reportedly died and more than 200 are still missing after a massive landslide hit the Wayanad district in Kerala on July 30. The official death figures stand at around 220.

"Till now, 215 bodies have been recovered, of which 87 are women, 98 are men, and 30 are children. As many as 148 bodies have been handed over so far. There are 206 people missing. Eighty-one people are injured and are under treatment in various hospitals," Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

Vijayan said that the search and rescue operations which began on July 30 have reached the final stages. Search operations started early on Saturday with more than 1,300 rescuers, heavy machinery and sophisticated equipment being deployed to look for survivors from the ravages of the landslides.

However, huge boulders and logs brought by landslides and deposited in the residential areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala are posing a significant challenge to rescue efforts to locate people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.