BJP MP Maneka Gandhi called International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) “biggest cheat” in India and alleged that the religious group sells cows to butchers from their gaushalas (cowsheds). Responding to Gandhi’s allegations, ISKCON said that the organisation is pioneer in cow protection in many parts of the world.
She then recalls her visit to ISKCON’s Anantpur Gaushala in Andhra Pradesh, where she says she couldn’t find any cow that doesn’t give milk or calves. “There was no dry cow in the entire dairy. Not a single calf was there. It means all were sold.”
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A dry cow is one that has not been milked for some time.
“ISKCON is selling all its cows to the butchers. No one else does this as much they do. And they go on and sing ‘Hare Ram Hare Krishna’ on the roads. Then they say their entire life is dependent on milk. Probably, no one has sold as many cattle to the butchers as they did,” she alleges.
However, ISKCON rejected Maneka Gandhi’s allegations as “unsubstantiated and false” and said they were “surprised” by the statements of the former Union Minister.
“ISKCON has pioneered cow protection in many parts of the world where beef is a staple diet,” ISKCON’s national spokesperson Yudhistir Govinda Das said in the statement.
“Many of the cows presently served in ISKCON’s goshalas were brought to us after being abandoned, injured, or rescued from being slaughtered.”