NEW DELHI: Amid raging unrest among Dalits over atrocities in parts of the country, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said it was wrong to kill a human being in the pretext of protecting the cow.
“If you respect cows it is great, but other human beings also have the right to live, right to do their work. If you want to respect a cow, respect it. Nothing wrong in this, but that doesn’t mean that you can kill anybody on that pretext. That is totally wrong,” information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on the sidelines of an event to felicitate IAS topper Tina Dabi, a Dalit.
He asserted that Hinduism does not sanction discrimination and said, “No person who discriminates against another human being could ever be called a Hindu.”
He said some people have suggested that conversion can end this problem, but that has not happened. There have been cases where people came back saying they witnessed the same situation in other religions also, he said.
Naidu’s comments came days after the statement by Athawale, a Dalit leader from Maharashtra, that people from the community should embrace Buddhism to avoid pressure or violence against them.
{{/usCountry}}Naidu’s comments came days after the statement by Athawale, a Dalit leader from Maharashtra, that people from the community should embrace Buddhism to avoid pressure or violence against them.
{{/usCountry}}There have also been reports of some Dalit families who have been protesting after being denied permission to attend a temple festival in Tamil Nadu’s Karur region last week, threatening to convert to Islam.
Emphasising on equality, Naidu said, “Bharat Mata ki jai means glory of all those who live in this country”, adding that those who live in this country are Indians and they are equal in all aspects.”