RSS mouthpiece says Vedas ordered killing of cow killers; Digvijay tweets 'will Shah now summon Bhagwat?'

New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reportedly expressed his worries over BJP leaders' controversial remarks on cow slaughter and Dadri lynching, the RSS mouthpiece, Panchjanya, has justified the killing of Mohammad Iqlakh over rumours that he had eaten beef in his house.

As per a report published in Indian Express, Panchjanya, in its latest edition, has carried a cover story stating that the Vedas order killing of “sinners” who slaughter cows.

The article which is being run as a cover story in the latest issue of Panchjanya added that the Dadri victim may have slaughtered a cow under the influence of anti-national traditions.

"Vedas order killing of the sinner who kills a cow. Cow slaughter is an issue of honour for Hindus. The Dadri victim perhaps slaughtered a cow under the influence of bad deeds," the article said.

The article is being written by Vinay Krishna Chaturvedi, the editor of the journal Lafz.

Chaturvedi also slammed writers who returned their Sahitya Akademi awards in protest over the Dadari murder and called them insensitive to Hindu sentiments over cow slaughter.

It alleges that madrasas and the Muslim leadership teach Indian Muslims to hate the country's traditions. "Iqlakh (the Dadri victim) perhaps slaughtered a cow under the influence of such bad deeds," it states.

However, RSS distanced itself from the article saying that the writer has expressed his views and is not a member of the editorial board of the magazine. "The writer has expressed his views. He is not a member of editorial board of the magazine. This is not an editorial," said Hitesh Shankar, the Panchjanya editor.

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh took to Twitter to take a dig at the BJP chief Amit Shah.

“Amit Shah summoned BJP leaders including a chief minister and a Union minister. RSS mouthpiece have not supported this issue.”

गौमांस /दादरी पर बयान देने पर अमित शाह ने मुख्य मंत्री से ले कर केन्द्रीय मंत्री को तलब किया। संघ के मुख पत्र पान्चजान्य ने समर्थन किया है

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 18, 2015

“Will Amit Shah now summon Mohan Bhagwat or the editor of Panchjanya?” he further tweeted.

क्या अमित शाह मोहन भागवत या पान्चजान्य के सम्पादक को भी तलब करेंगे ?

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 18, 2015

Earlier in the day, PM Modi pulled up five BJP leaders for making controversial comments on beef and Dadri lynching incident and told them to refrain from such remarks.

The stern message was conveyed by Amit Shah in separate meetings he held at the party office in the national capital with the five, including Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar.

Others who faced PM Modi's wrath were ministers Mahesh Sharma and Sanjeev Baliyan, MP Sakshi Maharaj and Uttar Pradesh legislator Sangeet Som.

Shah told them all that PM Modi was "upset" with the kind of remarks they have made related to beef consumption in the wake of last month's murder of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh.

The man, Mohammad Iqlakh, 50, was dragged out of his house in Dadri area in Uttar Pradesh and lynched by a mob following rumours of eating beef. His son was also seriously injured.

(With Agency inputs)