NEW DELHI: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Friday said it has served Rs 100 crore defamation notice on BJP MP from Sultanpur and noted animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi for questioning the care given to cows in its ‘gaushala’ after the animals stop yielding milk.
The ISKCON notice came after an undated video went viral in which Gandhi could be heard making the allegation. ISKCON vice-president Radharamn Das said the allegation was unfounded. “Today, we have sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to her,” Das said, adding that the worldwide community of ISKCON devotees and all those associated with the organisation were deeply hurt by the allegations.
He also termed Gandhi’s statement a “malicious accusation” far from the truth. Gandhi is heard in the video that the chain of temples is the “biggest cheat in the country, which sells cows from its gaushalas (cowsheds) to butchers.” “ISKCON establishes gaushalas and earns unlimited benefits from the government in the form of land,” she had said. The video created a flutter among the ISKCON devotees.
Refuting the allegations, ISKCON called them “unsubstantiated and false.”
“How can an MP, once a Union minister, lie without any evidence against such a big society?” the ISKCON notice asked, adding that the organisation runs more than 60 cowsheds protecting hundreds of sacred cows and bulls, and providing personalised care for the animals for their entire lifetime. “Many cows currently in ISKCON’s gaushalas were brought to us after being found abandoned, injured or rescued from being slaughtered.” No official statement was available from Gandhi.