As 14.50 lakh people in Kerala try to survive the ravages of the worst flood in almost a century, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani on Wednesday said only those who don't eat beef should be helped as it is a sin to help beef eaters.

As 14.50 lakh people in Kerala try to survive the ravages of the worst flood in almost a century, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani on Wednesday said only those who don't eat beef should be helped as it is a sin to help beef eaters. The self-styled godman also said that many innocent people died because a few people kill the 'gaumata and exhibit it in shops', Times Now reported.

"I am also appealing for help in Kerala. But help should be given to those who respect nature and creatures. When roti was available to people in Kerala, they were slaughtering the cow to eat her meat. So, what I mean is that Hindus should provide help to those who avoid cow meat," Chakrapani said.

The statement comes at a time when 231 people have lost their lives and 32 are missing in flood-related incidents since 8 August. Nearly 14.50 lakh people from 3.91 lakh families are still in about 3,879 relief camps across the state. The largest number of people in relief camps was in the worst-affected Ernakulam district with a total of 5.32 lakh in 850 camps.

In the last few days, social media has witnessed its share of bigoted statements as several hatemongers have blamed the Kerala floods on Hindus consuming beef and women being allowed into the Sabarimala temple. On Wednesday, RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy defended himself for his comment saying women being allowed to the temple caused floods. Twitter users had reacted to his statement, defending which, Gurumurthy, who was recently appointed as an independent director at the Reserve Bank of India, clarified that he never said that because women were allowed in the shrine, the state was ravaged by floods.

Amidst all the challenges of rehabilitating Kerala flood survivors, many twitter users have also called for aid for people of their particular community.

A disturbing tweet by advocate Prashant Patel Umrao had demonstrated the uncomfortable aspect of the massive rescue operations which were underway in Kerala. Advocate Umrao had tweeted: "Donate to @sewabharati & @Sewa_Global only for Kerala #KeralaFloodRelief to save Hindus. Others countries & people are assisting their own communities only, It's the ground reality, keeping emotions aside." Legal counsel Smita Dikshit had also quoted a tweet and said: "This woman finds nothing wrong with Christians calling for aid for Christians in Kerala and conversion attempts. Neither with pro-Dalit handles as they are the fertile fields for future conversions, yet has every issue with Hindu organisations (sic) stepping in for charity. Bigotry personified."

With inputs from PTI