Bihar elections a fight between beef-eaters and those wanting to ban it: Sushil Modi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi on Monday dubbed Bihar Assembly elections as a fight between beef-eaters and those who want to ban cow slaughter and said that they will ban beef if voted to power in the upcoming polls.

He further said that people must decide whether they want beef eaters to govern them or those who are against it.

"Sonia Gandhi and Nitish Kumar have so far remained quiet over the beef issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government have strictly stopped the movement of cows for slaughter at India-Bangladesh border. On one hand the Centre has stopped the slaughtering of cows and on the other Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Sonia Gandhi are talking about eating beef," Modi told media here.

"When we form government in Bihar we will bring a law to ban beef, so that slaughtering of cows could be stopped. When I was a minister, I had stopped hundreds cows being taken to Assam in trains (for slaughtering). This is a fight between those who eat beef and those who are against cow slaughtering; now people must decide whether they want beef eaters or those who want to ban it," he added.

Earlier, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha had urged the BJP to focus on basic issues concerning Bihar rather than playing politics over beef.

The BJP has been critical of the grand alliance post RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's remark that that even Hindus eat beef.

Lalu had stoked a controversy with his remark that Hindus too eat beef and accused the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of communalising the issue.

Meanwhile, the political parties are raising their pitch for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence and speak on the Dadri lynching incident.