‘We won’t let cows be killed & eaten’

LUCKNOW: Sangeet Som, the BJP lawmaker from Sardhana assembly constituency of Meerut is known to court controversy. Som, who enjoys Z category security cover, is an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots that claimed several innocent lives. He visited Dadri where a man was lynched on suspicion of consuming banned cow meat.

Hindustan Times spoke to the controversial MLA after UP minister Azam Khan had said he had ‘heard’ that Som had stake in a slaughter house. Azam Khan says he has ‘heard’ you have stake in a slaughter house?

That’s ridiculous and malicious. Let him prove the charge. If he can, I will quit

politics. He also says that BJP and VHP leaders too are involved in meat export and run slaughter houses?

Azam Khan said today he is an ‘item’ for us. So why take him seriously? Actually, he has lost his mind. How can someone make such outlandish claims? But tell me is running slaughter houses banned? Cutting and eating cows is. That’s what we are opposing. You visited Dadri and controversy began. Why?

I don’t know. So many leaders have visited there. I straightaway went to the place of one Rahul Yadav who was injured. It’ s height of appeasement that while one party was given ` 45 lakh, the other was left unattended, ignored. Only after I raised the issue, did the government announce

` 5 lakh for him.

So are you justifying the lynching of a Muslim man?

None can justify the killing. At the same time let us be very clear. Cow killing won’t be allowed. Nor would we let cow meat be sold and eaten.