BJP slams Cong for trying to drag party into cattle deaths in Nuapada

Bhubaneswar:BJP on Sunday slammed the Congress for trying to blame the party for the alleged deaths of several cows in Nuapada. In a social media campaign, the Congress claimed the cows allegedly died after consuming stale food from the BJP’s recent election rally in Nuapada, where a bypoll is scheduled on Nov 11.The Congress claimed that at least 12 cows died and over 30 fell ill in the past two days after eating leftover food from the BJP’s campaign on Thursday. The Congress’s Odisha unit also shared images of the deceased cattle on social media, condemning the incident and predicting that it would have electoral repercussions for the BJP.“In the CM’s election meeting, more than 12 cows died in Gotama village in Nuapada district after eating the leftover food cooked for participants at the rally.

The people of Nuapada will give a befitting reply to the BJP,” an X post of Congress Odisha unit read.Bhakta Charan Das, the Congress state president, criticised the BJP govt for the incident. “Irresponsibility has been the hallmark of this BJP govt. Villagers allege cows in Nuapada fell ill after eating leftovers from the CM’s programme. Will the CM take responsibility and accept accountability?” Das wrote on X.Dismissing the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, BJP spokesperson Manoj Mohapatra accused the Congress of spreading misinformation in an attempt to divert attention from its imminent electoral defeat.

“Everyone knows our commitment to cow protection. Congress is out to peddle lies and is exploiting the unfortunate incident (deaths of cows) for political gain,” Mohapatra said, calling for an investigation by veterinary authorities to determine the cause of deaths.“We have sent a team to the village to find out the cause of the cattle deaths,” a veterinary doctor said.