ISKCON sends Rs 100-cr defamation notice to BJP MP Maneka Gandhi

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to BJP MP Maneka Gandhi for her statement that the religious organisation sells cows to butchers for slaughter.

“Today we have sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Maneka Gandhi for levelling completely unfounded allegations against ISKCON. The worldwide community of ISKCON devotees, supporters, and well-wishers are deeply pained by these defamatory, slanderous, and malicious accusations. We will not leave any stone unturned in our pursuit of justice against the fallacious propaganda against ISKCON," Vice President of ISKCON Kolkata, Radharaman Das, said.

Gandhi's controversial statement has sparked tremendous outrage, with ISKCON categorically denying her allegations. On September 28, a video of BJP MP Maneka Gandhi went viral in which she could be heard charging that the ISKCON is the "biggest cheat in the country which sells cows from its gaushalas (cowsheds) to butchers".

The allegation has been strongly refuted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) which called it "unsubstantiated and false".

In the undated video, Gandhi said that “ISKCON establishes gaushalas and earns unlimited benefits for the same from the government, in the form of huge lands.” “ISKCON is selling all its cows to the butchers and no one else does this more than them. They are the ones who roam on the road chanting ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ and say their entire life is dependent on milk,” Gandhi, an animal rights activist, said in the purported video.

The BJP MP went on to say that she had visited an ISKCON Gaushala in Andhra Pradesh and found "even a single cow in good condition there". "There were no calves in the Gaushala, which means all of them were sold off," said Gandhi.

“I recently visited their Anantapur Gaushala (in Andhra Pradesh) and did not find even a single cow in good condition there…There were no calves in the gaushala, which means all of them were sold off,” Gandhi alleged.

ISKCON, in response, said it has pioneered cow protection in many parts of the world where beef is a staple diet.

“Within India, ISKCON runs more than 60 goshalas protecting hundreds of sacred cows and bulls and providing personalized care for their entire lifetime. Many of the cows presently served in ISKCON’s goshalas were brought to us after being found abandoned, injured, or rescued from being slaughtered,” ISKCON said in a statement.

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