Elephant death turns into political slugfest
■ BJP criticises Vijayan govt for ‘insensitivity’
Even as arrests were made in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala who was fed a pineapple filled with firecrackers, the case took an unexpected political turn on Thursday with Union minister Smriti Irani lashing out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Union minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi blaming the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government for its “insensitivity towards animals”.
The gruesome incident in Palakkad district last week has led to a major public outcry and outrage on the social media.
Ms Irani, an MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, attacked Mr Gandhi, whose parliamentary constituency is Wayanad in the southern state. Replying to a question on Mr Gandhi’s silence on the issue, Ms Irani said it was “wrong to expect (a reaction) from a person who does not worry about humans, to worry about an animal.” Meanwhile, in Kerala, three people have been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the “pineapple bomb” killing of the elephant in Silent Valley forest range.
Even as arrests were made in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala who was allegedly fed a pineapple filled with firecrackers, the case took an unexpected political turn on Thursday with Union minister Smriti Irani lashing out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Union minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi blaming the tragedy on Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government’s “insensitivity towards animals”.
The gruesome incident in Palakkad district last week has led to a major public outcry and outrage on the social media.
Ms Irani, an MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, attacked Mr Gandhi, whose parliamentary constituency is Wayanad in the southern state. Replying to a question on Mr Gandhi’s silence on the issue, Ms Irani said it was “wrong to expect (a reaction) from a person who does not worry about humans, to worry about an animal.”
Ms Maneka Gandhi, accusing the Kerala government of being “insensitive” towards animals and allowing “bomb factories” in Mallapuram to kill animals, claimed that the state government “does not even have an ounce of knowledge about wildlife or environment and said at least MPs from the state, including Mr Gandhi and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, should speak up as elephants and all wildlife are national property and important to the environment.
Her allegations sparked angry reactions in Kerala where three people have
been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the “pineapple bomb” killing of the elephant in Silent Valley forest range.
“The government will do everything possible to
ensure stringent punishment to those involved in the gruesome killing,” chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, and added, “Kerala is a society that respects the outrage against injustice. If there is any silver lining in this, it is that we now know that we can make our voices heard against injustice. Let us be that people who fight injustice in all its forms, everytime, everywhere.”
The joint investigating team, comprising police and forest officials, is focusing on three suspects, he said.
The elephant’s postmortem report has revealed that the injuries sustained in the jaw were at least two weeks old. There is no conclusive evidence yet to suggest that the elephant was fed or had consumed pineapple filled with crackers.
Another version is that the 15-year-old elephant could have munched some fruit stuffed with fire crackers which is usually kept by local people to kill wild boars that enter plantations.
The pregnant elephant died in Velliyar river on May 27 evening. According to people residing near the forest range, forest officials tried to save the elephant.