Assam BJP MLA Compares Muslims to Cows That Don’t Give Milk

The BJP MLA said that the state government should not take care of Muslims as they do not vote for the BJP. 

(Photo Courtesy: Flickr)

A BJP MLA in Assam compared Muslims to cows that don’t give milk and then remained unapologetic about his shocking remark. Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan stated that state government should not take care of Muslims as they do not vote for the BJP.

While talking to a local TV channel, Prasanta Phukan reportedly said, “Ninety percent Hindus voted for the BJP, and 90 percent people from the Muslim community did not vote for us. If a cow is not giving milk, what is the point of feeding it fodder?”

Speaking to The Indian Express, the MLA claimed that his remark was misinterpreted.

“My point was simple. I said 90 percent Muslims do not vote for us. I used an Assamese proverb – what is the use of feeding a cow fodder if it does not give milk… I never intended to call the Muslim community ‘cow’. I said it is no use seeking their votes.”

MLA Prasanta Phukan to <i><a href="https://indianexpress.com/elections/assam-bjp-mla-muslims-are-like-cows-that-dont-give-milk-5709784/">The Indian Express </a></i>

In response to Phukan’s remark, the Congress Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia, wrote to the Speaker demanding action against the BJP MLA.

In his letter, Saikia wrote that “Shri Phukan unequivocally termed the Muslim community of Assam as ‘cows that do not yield milk’, because, according to him, 90 per cent of the community did not vote for the BJP in Lok Sabha elections. Shri Phukan further stated that the government should not work for the welfare of Muslims because ‘there is no benefit in providing fodder to cows that do not yield milk’,” reported The Indian Express.