Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said that RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) appeal to the Muslim community to shun beef and adopt the cow is a suggestion, not a command, adding that the former says it should be done through education.
Swamy told ANI, "I think one has to go back and see when Bahadur Shah Zafar was made king of liberated India in 1857 by the Hindus, the first instruction that was issued was a ban on cow slaughter because he know it is the best way to maintain public order."
"Gandhi ji also said that, he was very secular. He had said that whenever he gets power he would ban cow slaughter first," he added.
The RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has decided to urge the Muslim community to shun eating beef and adopt cows.
The MRM, which is scheduled to meet at Piran Kaliyar near Roorkee on May 5 and 6, will advise Muslims to learn about the benefits of cows.
"Even the Quran says cow meat is not to be eaten. The purpose of the meeting is to put forward some thinking points in front of the decision-makers of the community and arrive at a consensus," said Indresh Kumar, a senior RSS pracharak and convener of MRM.
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He further said that the 'Arabs shunned beef for many years and that eating beef is something that has come up recently among Muslims'.
"Over 150 Muslim families across India are already running gaushalas. We have identified them and we want them to be the examples for the community," he added.