BJP Leader Draws Flak For Linking Wayanad Tragedy To Cow Slaughter ()

As rescue workers struggle to recover the dead bodies from Wayanad, which was hit by a catastrophic landslide, a comment from former BJP MLA, Gyan Dev Ahuja on Saturday, attributing the disaster to the cow slaughter, sparked outrage on social media.

Speaking to the media, the BJP leader said that since 2018, he has observed a pattern where areas involved in cow slaughter face “such tragic incidents.” He was referring to the flood the state witnessed in 2018. He also warned that if cow slaughter continues, similar tragedies will continue to occur in Kerala.

Read Also: Right-Wing Social Media Handles React With Hate Comments On Wayanad Landslides

Comparing Wayanad’s calamity to the recent cloudburst and landslides that hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Dev Ahuja added that the scale of destruction of those disasters was not as severe as Wayanad’s.

Dev Ahuja had been in the news earlier too for his controversial remark in 2022 that he has given free hand to kill those who slaughter cows, admitting that he has been involved in lynching Muslim men, and that they have killed at least five men so far.

While people across the country and beyond are mourning the heart-wrenching stories from the tragedy-hit region, the remark by the former BJP MLA has set social media on fire. Reacting to the BJP leader’s statement, CPI General Secretary D Raja alleged that the saffron party is trying to communalise the entire tragedy when the people are suffering and political parties including the their’s were supplying relief material, shelter, food and other amnesties to the affected.

Commenting on the remark of the BJP leader, netizens also trolled Dev Ahuja, noting that next could be the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh as the state is the biggest meat producer in India with lots of exporting companies. Many asked the BJP heads to educate the former MLA, calling his comment “shameless.”

Read Also: When Political Differences Subside In Wayanad Relief Works

The death toll from the massive landslides that hit several villages in Wayanad including Mundakai, Churalamala, and Meppadi crossed 360, making it one of the biggest natural calamities the state has ever witnessed in its recent history. More than 250 are still reported to be trapped under the mud and debris of the collapsed buildings.