An Indian politician has drawn disdain and mockery online after claiming that Indian cows produce gold in their milk thanks to a peculiar gland that makes the element when sunlight falls upon it.

West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh is no stranger to controversy, recently telling beef eaters, whom he dubbed as “anti-socials,” to go home and eat dog meat, but his latest bovine biology barrage was truly breathtaking.

Dilip Ghosh, BJP West Bengal President: Indian breed of cows has a special characteristic, there is gold mixed in its milk, & that is why colour of their milk is slightly yellow. Cow's navel helps in producing gold with help of sunshine. (4.11.19) pic.twitter.com/XoHUwfowBS — ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2019

“A feature of the Indian cow is that its milk contains gold. That’s the reason the color of the milk is yellowish,” Ghosh said during a speech in the Burdwan district in eastern India, insisting that when sunlight falls on Indian cows, gold is produced.

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“The Indian cows have humps, which foreign cows don’t have. The foreign cow has a straight back, like a buffalo. The [Indian cow] hump has an artery, called ‘swarnanari’ (gold artery). When sunlight falls on it, gold is made,” he added, before reaffirming that it is a “heinous crime” to kill cows and consume their meat in India.

Needless to say, his rather outlandish claims were ruthlessly mocked online.

Hold on to something people.Logic, Science, Myth, stupidity almost everything is getting serious hit today 🤦🏻‍♂️ — Divesh Singh (@YippeekiYay_DH) November 5, 2019

He is insulting cow. His colleagues said that cow dung produced diamonds. From diamonds to Gold, what a fall — Jaini /উজ্জয়িনী/ اجینی (@IchbinUjjaini) November 5, 2019

Ghosh’s supporters were few and far between but still made their voices heard above the din of derision, though many confused previous scientific studies which found trace amounts of gold in cow milk and urine with Ghosh’s claims that the cows actually produce gold in their milk.

Yes, a breed of cow called Kapila is believed to have traces of Gold. Its a matter of research but there is a popular belief among people. So what he is saying is right. — Dr. Vinayak Dubey (@vinayvaani) November 5, 2019

Inevitably, some party poopers decided to ruin the fun with the actual science, explaining that fat globules are the real reason why cows’ milk has a slightly yellow-ish tinge and traces of gold in fluids produced by the body is nothing special.

Saw an article being circulated which says cow urine has gold. Gold is a trace element present in animals including human. It's presence in urine is no big deal. Gold is found even in human feaces. There's nothing pious about it.Also, it doesn't give yellow color to cow's milk. pic.twitter.com/9VtXYFpdF6 — Major Neel (@MajorNeel) November 5, 2019

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