ISKCON sues Maneka Gandhi for Rs 100 crore over her 'biggest cheat', 'selling cows to butcher' remark

A Rs 100 crore defamation notice has been sent to BJP MP Maneka Gandhi by the ISKCON over her remarks that the society sells cows from its gaushalas (cowsheds) to butcher.

“The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will legally pursue the case against the former Union minister till the end, ISKCON vice president Radharamn Das said.

ISKCON further said that the worldwide community of its devotees, supporters and well-wishers were deeply pained by the “defamatory, slanderous, and malicious accusations” made by Maneka Gandhi.

“We will not leave any stone unturned in our pursuit of justice against the fallacious propaganda against ISKCON,” the ISKCON said.

“Maneka Gandhi’s comments were unfortunate and hurt the sentiments of ISKCON devotees across the world. How could an MP who was a former minister lie about ISKCON without any evidence? She said she went to Anantpur gaushala, but people there can’t remember Maneka Gandhi visiting there. So sitting at home, she is making these baseless allegations,” the ISKCON vice president said.

Earlier this week, an undated video of animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi went viral in which she called ISKCON the “biggest cheaters” of the country.

What did Maneka Gandhi say about ISKCON?

“They establish gaushalas and get benefits from the government to run these gaushalas. And they get huge land for that. I visited their Anantpur gaushala. Not a single dry cow was present. All were dairies. No calf was there either which means all cows were sold. So ISKCON is selling their cows to butchers. No one else does as much as they (ISKCON) do. And they do ‘hare ram hare krishna’ on the roads. They also say their life is dependent on doodh, doodh, doodh, doodh. No one has sold as many cows to butchers as ISKCON did. If these people can do it, what about the others?” Maneka Gandhi said.

Soon after the political leader’s video went viral, ISKCON issued a statement, saying that her allegations were baseless.

“ISKCON has been at the forefront of cow and bull protection and care not just in India but globally. The cows and bulls are served for their life not sold to butchers as alleged. ISKCON has pioneered cow protection in many parts of the world where beef is a staple diet,” the statement by ISKCON read.

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

Associated with the Hare Krishna movement, the ISKCON has hundreds of temples and millions of devotees around the world.