Savarkar wasn’t against cow slaughter, ate beef: Congress minister sparks row

After Rahul Gandhi, now Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao's recent comments on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar have triggered a controversy. The Congress leader said at an event in Bengaluru on October 2, that Savarkar was a non-vegetarian, who was not against cow slaughter and consumed beef himself. This drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which hit back at the Congress for "insulting and disrespecting" Savarkar.

Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that Savarkar was a meat-eater and propagated this practice publicly, despite being a Brahmin. The Congress minister further claimed that Savarkar did not practice the traditional dietary restrictions as a Brahmin as he was a modernist, India Today reported.

Rao said: "Savarkar was a Brahmin, but he ate beef and was a non-vegetarian. He did not oppose cow slaughter; in fact, he was quite a modernist on that topic."