'ISKCON biggest cheat': Maneka Gandhi alleges organisation sells cows to butchers; temple authority responds

In a scathing attack on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), BJP MP Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday alleged the religious organisation is "biggest cheat" in the country as it sells cows from its gaushalas to butchers.

The remarks, made by the the BJP MP in a video that has gone viral, drew sharp response from ISKCON, the most influential Krishna sect in the world, terming the allegations as "unsubstantiated and false."

Gandhi, a former Union minister and an animal rights activist, is vocal on social media over issues of animal welfare.

In the video, Gandhi is heard saying, "ISKCON is the biggest cheat in the country. They establish gaushalas for which they get unlimited benefits from the government. They get huge lands, everything..."

More from India

Narrating her visit to  ISKCON's Anantpur gaushala, she said that she couldn't find a single cow that doesn't give milk and there were no calves at all.

"It means all of them were sold. ISKCON is selling all its cows to butchers. No one else does as much as they do. And these people go on roads and chant Hare Rama Hare Krishna! They say their whole life is dependent on milk.... Probably, no one has sold as many cattle to butchers as they did. If these people can do it, what about others?" she asked.

Taking to X, ISKCON's national spokesperson Yudhistir Govinda Das rejected the allegations saying the religious body has been at the forefront of cow and bull protection and care not just in India but globally.

"The cows and bulls are served for their life not sold to butchers as alleged," he said.

"ISKCON has pioneered cow protection in many parts of the world where beef is a staple diet, said an ISKCON statement shared by him on X.

"Smt. Gandhi is a well-known animal rights activist and well-wisher of ISKCON hence we are surprised by these statements," said the statement.

With inputs from agencies