Assam BJP MLA Suman Haripriya said cow urine and dung may help cure coronavirus

As the world fumbles for a cure to the coronavirus, which has claimed thousands of lives, a BJP legislator in Assam on Monday left the state assembly astounded - he said the remedy may be "gaumutra" (cow urine) and "gobar" (cow dung).

Suman Haripriya said cow urine and cow dung are helpful in curing deadly diseases like cancer. "We all know that cow dung is very helpful. Likewise, when cow urine is sprayed, it purifies an area... I believe something similar could be done with gaumutra and gobar to cure coronavirus (disease)," she said during a discussion on smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh during the budget session of the assembly.

Ms Haripriya said the economy of Bangladesh has strengthened on the back of smuggled cows from India, primarily Assam.

"Bangladesh is the second-largest beef exporter in the world. All these cows are our cows. Earlier the Congress government did nothing to stop smuggling of cows," she said.

"Nowadays, river route is mostly used to smuggle cows," the BJP MLA said and asked the BJP-led government in Assam to monitor the cattle markets in the state as she said "illegal trading is being carried out by them with most of their receipts being fake".

As many as 25,738 people are under community surveillance across the country while 37 people suspected to have COVID-19 symptoms are currently hospitalised. China has so far seen 2,912 deaths due to coronavirus.