Kerala punished with floods for slaughtering cows: BJP MLA

Killing cows and eating beef can result in punishments like natural disasters, according to Basanagouda Patil Yatnal.

At a time when the entire country has come together to help Kerala in the aftermath of unprecedented floods in the state, a BJP MLA - infamous for making controversial remarks - has said that the natural disaster is a result of slaughtering cows in the open.

Vijaypura's BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal invited massive ire after he claimed that the prevailing situation in Kerala was because the state had hurt Hindu sentiments. "In Kerala, people openly slaughter cows. What happened? Within a year, a situation like this (flood) arose. Whoever hurts the Hindu religious beliefs will face such consequences," he said recently. Yatnal would then elaborate on how Hindus worship cows and killing the animal is at par with killing humans.

The remarks have invited massive retaliation with people at large accusing Yatnal of being insensitive to the ground realities. Others have said that he is only interested in making headline-grabbing statements which have no scientific backing or backing of logic.

Logic perhaps does not figure too high in Yatnal's priorities as he has made several controversial remarks in the past as well. He had said just last month that if he could, he would have had all intellectuals shot dead because of their support for the human rights of terrorists. In June, he had stirred the hornet's nest when he said that BJP corporators have been told not to work for Muslims.

I'm telling you Corporators, don't work for the welfare for Muslims. You must work for the welfare of Hindus only. Who voted us to power? I told my staff, no one wearing skull caps or burqas should visit my office: BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/mz3FbjTrDx — ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2018

Statements like these have repeatedly given fodder to opposition parties in their bid to attack BJP. Yatnal's most recent statement on Kerala floods could put embarrass the central leadership of his party at a time when PM Narendra Modi has repeatedly said he stands with the people in the state in their time of need.