New Delhi: A political controversy has erupted in Tripura over a cow that Chief Minister Manik Saha allegedly arranged to pacify a Muslim family whose house was ransacked, preventing them from making a kurbani, or sacrifice on Bakrid.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has long championed cow protection, came under attack from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for allegedly facilitating a cow for slaughter while the opposition demanded the arrest of the VHP followers, who ransacked the Muslim family’s house on Bakrid.
After the row erupted, the BJP’s Minority Morcha said it was their goodwill effort to help the Muslim family and the chief minister was not involved. The Morcha denied that it was a cow but said it was a bull.
“During Bakrid, kurbani is made. When we heard that the poor family didn’t have any animal to sacrifice, we, as a morcha, arranged an animal for the family. Normally, we facilitate donations during Eid and Bakrid. We, as the Minority Morcha, donated. The CM has no role in it as it is not a state government scheme. We, as human beings, helped the poor family,” BJP’s Tripura Minority Morcha head Billal Mia told ThePrint.
“Now, the Congress and CPI(M) want to make politics out of it because they lost minority votes. The BJP is a party that celebrates Durga Puja and Eid and an offering is given on Bakrid. What’s new in it?” he contended.
The controversy centres around an incident on 7 June when members of Hindutva groups allegedly disrupted the Muslim family’s ritual sacrifice, chasing away their sacrificial animal and reportedly assaulting the family, according to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.
Hindutva outfits claimed the protest stemmed from concerns over animal sacrifice near the Mata Tripura Sundari Temple, a significant Hindu shrine in Udaipur, Tripura.
Local leaders requested the Muslim community to avoid the public slaughter of cows or other animals near the temple. However, some families allegedly defied the request, prompting a protest by local youth.
In response, Jamiat leaders met with local BJP MLA and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy. After hearing the complaint, Roy reportedly discussed the matter with the CM and proposed gifting a cow to the aggrieved Muslim family.
Following the chief minister’s “approval”, Roy arranged for the cow and the BJP’s Tripura Minority Morcha head Billal Mia, along with other local BJP leaders, delivered it to the family. The Muslim family later expressed gratitude to the CM and the BJP for the gesture.
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‘Donation can’t be sacrificed’
Billal Mia posted about the incident on Facebook on Monday evening, explicitly saying the arrangement was made under the chief minister’s direction. But after the backlash, he removed any mention of the state government or Chief Minister Saha.
The revised version stated: “In light of the unfortunate incident that took place last Saturday in Udaipur (Rajnagar), a group from the minority community has made arrangements for sacrifice today.”
BJP’s national Minority Morcha chief Jamal Siddiqui told ThePrint, “Our Morcha doesn’t give donations for sacrifices. We worship the cow. Cow and bull slaughter is banned in the country. If anybody donated a cow or bull to a family for sacrifice, it’s condemnable. Even in Islam, any donation can’t be sacrificed. It should be earned or purchased.”
The government has no scheme for helping a family for sacrifice and nor does the party, BJP’s Tripura spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty told ThePrint. “This is the first time I’ve heard of such a donation. Maybe an individual has helped but the party has no link with it.”
Meanwhile, CPI(M) and Congress leaders protested against the attack on the Muslim family and asked the chief minister to book the culprits who ransacked the family’s house.
“How come the chief minister allowed this to happen? The state government can’t donate a cow for sacrifice during kurbani day. The government has not banned kurbani,” Congress state president Ashish Saha told ThePrint.
“How come the VHP and Hindutva outfits tortured and ransacked their house? They are committing crimes against the Muslims for political gain. They should be booked as per the law. The chief minister should arrest those who ransacked the Muslim family’s house.”
The incident came as tensions flared in recent days, during Bakrid, following reports of animal slaughter in public places. The Tripura police detained two people for allegedly slaughtering a cow in public in Gomati district. In Rajnagar, clashes broke out, prompting police to mediate between Hindu and Muslim groups.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
