New Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday criticised Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on “cow urine”, alleging that the Congress leader echoed language often used to mock Hindu beliefs.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya took to social media platform X to attack Gandhi, sharing a video of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha speaking about the need for political discourse to focus on data and innovation rather than debates over food habits or whether cow urine has benefits.

Malviya said that some radicalised Islamists often use the phrase “gau mutra” (cow urine) to ridicule Hindus and claimed that Gandhi’s comments resembled such rhetoric.

“The most radicalised Islamists often hurl ‘gau mutra’ jibes at Hindus as a way to mock and demean their faith. One would not expect the Leader of the Opposition to echo the same language. Yet Rahul Gandhi seems determined to leave no doubt about where he stands,” Malviya said in his post.

He added that it was “tragic” that such rhetoric was presented as “plain speaking” and framed as ideological intellectualism.

In the video shared by the BJP leader, Gandhi is seen responding to a question about the role of data and innovation in India’s political discourse.

“That’s one of the central questions that the politics of India should be discussing. This is our biggest resource. How are we going to utilise it? What is its nature? Who has access to it? At what cost do they have access to it?” Gandhi said.

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“These are the questions the political system should be discussing, not whether we should eat or drink something and whether cow urine is good for you,” he added.