Chhattisgarh Sanskrit Board chief justifies death for cow killers

Bhopal: A purported video in which Chhattisgarh state Sanskrit board chairman Swami Parmatmanand was heard justifying killing of cow slaughterers has gone viral triggering an unsavoury controversy.

The newly appointed board chief cited Hindu scriptures to back his statement, saying, “Mere Ved mein likha hai ki gau hatyare ko sheeshe ki goli se maro… Kshama na karo (My Veda says kill the cow slaughterers with glass bullets. Do not forgive them)”.

He was also heard in the video clip exhorting to invite the accused in the killing of Rajasthan dairy farmer Pehlu Khan to Chhattisgarh and honour him (for his actions). Khan was attacked by cow vigilantes in Alwar, Rajasthan on April 1. He succumbed to his injuries two days later. Parmatmanand, a Bajrang Dal leader, had been appointed the post of chairman in May this year. “I don’t care if I lose my post for saying this”, he was heard saying in the clip.

He was addressing the “Virat Hindu Sammelan” organised by Bajrang Dal in the district headquarters of Ambikapur in north Chhattisgarh on July 9. He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dubbing cow vigilantes as criminals.

“We have a high regard for our PM. But how could he make a sweeping remark that all “gau rakshaks” (cow protectors) are criminals. Some cow vigilantes may be goons. But our Bajrang Dal and all those who serve cows are not criminals”, he said.

The saffron leader also heaped his ire on English medium schools, saying that all such schools should be closed down. “Had I been made PM for a day, I would have ordered the closure of all English medium schools in the country,” he was heard saying in the clip.