Don't give communal colour to Dadri incident: Sanjeev Balyan

New Delhi: Terming the lynching of a man in Dadri over rumours that he had eaten beef as "wrong and unfortunate", Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan Monday said the issue should not be given communal colour and asked the UP government to take strict action against cow slaughtering.

     Balyan, who hails from Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh and is the Minister of State for Agriculture, said the incident is not linked to communalism but it is a social issue concerning emotions of the Hindu community.

     "The issue should not be linked to communalism and to any party base. Whatever happened was wrong and unfortunate. But why such incidents happen? Look at any districts in the state, cow slaughter houses are set up at every place. The Uttar Pradesh government has not been able to take effective action," he said on the sidelines of an event here.

     The UP government should take effective actions, he added.

     Asked if he supported a communal flavour being given to the incident, Balyan said: "I don't agree to it. I don't want to link this issue with communalism. This is a social issue and is attached to the emotions of the Hindu community. It is better to see the issue from this angle."

     "Cow slaugher is banned in Uttar Pradesh. It should be banned. If cow slaughtering is being done, the state government should take strict action," he said.

     On whether cow slaughter ban is on BJP's agenda, Balyan said, "It is not BJP's agenda. This is an issue of the whole Hindu community. Don't link this issue with BJP."

     Last week at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, 50-year-old Iqlakh was lynched and his son injured by a mob after rumours that he had eaten beef.