Gyan Dev Ahuja defends death threats to cow smugglers, says even PM cannot stop angry villagers.

The BJP’s MLA from Ramgarh in Rajasthan Gyan Dev Ahuja, who recently courted controversy with his remarks on cow smugglers, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the incarnation of Lord Krishna and would continue to rule the country for more than a decade even after the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

In an interview to The Hindu, Mr Ahuja said, “This man (Mr. Modi) is incarnation of Lord Krishna. He is a distinguished personality. People may not able to recognise him now, but things will become clear in the times to come. He will continue to rule the country for more than a decade much beyond 2019. On one hand, we have Nehru family that promotes dynasty rule and on the other, Mr. Modi who does not even invite his own family to his official residence.”

The legislator said that Mr. Modi had taken historic decisions like demonetisation, Goods and Services Tax and Jan-Dhan scheme, when even former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was called “Durga” by another former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had developed cold feet at the decision to discontinue the currency.

‘Nation of Matri Shakti’

Defending his remarks in the wake of an attack on alleged cow smuggler in his constituency in Alwar over the weekend, Mr. Ahuja said he had made a simple, plain statement that those indulging in cow smuggling and slaughtering would be killed since anger is simmering among the local Hindu population against them.

“We are a nation of Matri Shakti: Ganga Mata, Geeta Mata, Gau Mata, Tulsi Mata, Janani Mata (our own mother), Dharti Mata and Bharat Mata. People are very fond of cows in Mewat region, whether it is Gujjars, Jats, Ahirs, Rajputs or Scheduled Castes. They keep vigil at night...These smugglers have crossed all limits, making the people angry. So they are beaten up... it is mob mentality. No one can do anything about it, be it me or Mr. Modi or anyone else,” said Mr. Ahuja.

He claimed that the attacks on the cow smugglers were carried out by the local villagers and not “gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes)”.

“The attackers do not include RSS workers, VHP activists, Bajrang Dal activists or Hindu Jagran Manch activists. It is the common villagers who are agitated over the growing instances of cow smuggling and slaughtering,” claimed Mr. Ahuja.

The MLA said after the Pehul Khan incident, he had urged the people not to indulge in violence and to hand over criminals to the police. “They (the smugglers) should not be beaten up or killed. They should be handed over to the police. There have been hundreds of incidents when cow smugglers have been handed over to the police. But they pelt stones and offer resistance when flagged down. It leads to attacks on them,” said Mr. Ahuja, adding that the Rajasthan Police were alert and trying its best to stop cow smuggling, but had its limitations.

He said there was a steep rise in cases of cow smuggling and slaughtering in Alwar over the past three months and alleged that it could be conspiracy at the national level by Opposition parties.

“It could be a conspiracy by Congress or Left parties or Muslim organisations. In Gujarat, the Congress spent crores to project Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor, Jignesh Mevani as caste leaders. It could be an attempt to divide society in Rajasthan after similar attempts in Gujarat. Earlier there used to be one-off incident in two-three months time. But now there have been 150-odd incidents over the past three months. Beef is being sold openly,” said Mr. Ahuja.

Though Mr. Ahuja said he had “nothing against the Muslims”, he added that the community constituted only 8% of Alwar population but 60% of those inside jails were Muslims.

“If you visit my house, you will find that half of the people visiting me are Muslims. They come to me with all kinds of requests related to road, electricity and water. But while various Hindu castes earlier known to be involved in criminal activities have mended their ways, Meo Muslims now found involved in the illegal activities. I often visit mosques and speak to Muslim clerics to guide the youth of their community,” claimed Mr. Ahuja.