Bizarre: Cow Urine Sip Must For Navratri Entry?

In a recently made statement, Chintu Verma, the BJP district president from Indore urged the organizers of Garba events during Navratri to make devotees take a sip of cow urine (gaumutra) before letting them enter into the event. Verma believes that this will ensure only Hindus enter the pandals.

He further went on to say that while documents like Aadhar can be forged and edited, no Hindu in this world can refuse an offering of cow’s urine, making it a “definitive test” of one’s Hindu faith. He further stated that this step was required to prevent the entry of non-Hindus into the events, which according to him, can lead to communal discussions.

The opposition has not been hesitant in criticizing the ridiculous remarks of Chintu Verma, which they say is nothing more but a desperate attempt at religious polarization.

Neelabh Shukla, MP Congress spokesperson called out the BJP for focussing on polarizing the communities rather than doing actual work for the betterment of the poorly managed cow shelters in the state. Shukla also satirically invited the BJP leadership to first perform the test themselves on video, so that people can follow them as an example.

This event is not something new and unheard of in Indian politics. Time and again we hear of these politicians, trying to divide and separate people based on religion, caste and creed to garner votes for themselves, regardless of their political party or ideology.

While ideally, it should be the duty of the politician to unite people under one umbrella and lead a common effort towards national development, it is a sad reality that the same politician is often the one fueling the fires of hatred and division.