Lalu Prasad faces flak for saying Hindus eat beef and so do Indians living abroad

Amid the raging controversy over the recent killing of a man in Uttar Pradesh allegedly over consumption of beef, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Saturday kicked up another row by asserting that the Hindus ate beef.

The RJD chief, however, was quick to add that he did not mean gau-maans (cow meat) by beef and emphasised that those eating meat on regular basis did not differentiate between beef and other meat. "Hindus eat beef and so do Indians living abroad," he said.

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Lalu insisted that it was not good for health to eat meat of any kind. "Civilised people do not eat meat," he said. "Its consumption causes many diseases."

The RJD president accused the BJP and the RSS of trying to communalise the country on the issue of beef. "But the people of the country will foil their designs," he added.

Lalu, who accompanied his youngest son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for filing his nomination papers from the Raghopur constituency, said the polarisation of the forces in favour of reservation and social justice had unnerved the BJP which was trying to divert the attention of the people from real issues like the rights of the Dalits and backward classes by creating controversies. "An alarmed BJP and section of the elite media have hidden behind the issues like the beef ban," he said. "My statements are being distorted."

The RJD president also posted a tweet asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to refrain from resorting to communal politics in the name of people's lifestyle, food habits and faith.

Lalu's remarks evoked sharp response from the BJP. The party's firebrand leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Lalu should stop denigrating Hindus by making such remarks. He said he would launch an agitation outside Lalu's house if he does not withdraw his remarks.

"Lalu has lost senses," he said in a tweet. "Hindus are not beef eaters. Do not defame the Hindus for votes. Withdraw your words otherwise we will resort to agitation."

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who addressed an election rally in Banka district, also said in order to get votes, Lalu was trying to shift the focus from real issues by talking about such things.

Lalu has been in the thick of several controversies in recent days because of his remarks. He had recently called BJP president Amit Shah a man-eater, alleging he had been responsible for the killing of many people in Gujarat.

He had also kicked up a storm by saying that the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar was a direct contest between the backward and forward castes. The Election Commission has already served him a notice to explain his stand by October 6.