SP supports Udit Raj's beef statement, says he is under pressure from BJP

The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday extended its support to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Udit Raj, who said Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won nine Olympics gold medals because of consuming beef as a source of protein.

Speaking to ANI, SP leader Abu Azmi said Raj's statement reflected his original stance and is now under pressure from the BJP.

"I agree with Udit Raj. On one hand, he is in the BJP and on the other hand, he is being disturbed by atrocities committed against Dalits. When I met him, I asked his opinion on beef slaughter to which he couldn't answer because he was scared of BJP," he said.

He questioned the ruling dispensation's double standard on beef banning and said that there some states, including a BJP ruled state, which allows slaughtering of cows.

"Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says that if anybody wants to eat beef they should go to Pakistan. What is the need to go to Pakistan when people in northeast, whose Prime Minister is Narendra Modi, are slaughtering beef. Even in West Bengal, cows are getting slaughtered, their faith is just a show-off. Even in Goa, which is a BJP ruled state, there is no ban on beef, so they are just befooling people," he said.

He noted that beef is consumed by poor and the Dalit people to get protein at a cheaper rate and also asked the Central government to consider the farmers' plight who faces difficulty in raising old and ailing cows.

Clarifying his stance on the statement, Udit Raj, yesterday, said "I was worried that our performance (at Rio Games) was poor. I thought about the reasons (behind the disappointing result). Then I noticed that Usain Bolt's trainers told him to eat beef twice a day because he was poor. I just wanted to say that if there is dedication, then we can excel in sports. Giving excuses about lack of infrastructure and pointing out faults of the govt. and the system all the time should be done away with."

Taking a departure from his party's stand on the controversial meat and its consumption, Raj, the chairperson of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations, had posted on his Twitter handle, "Usain bolt of Jamaica was poor and trainer advised him to eat beef both the times and he scored 9 gold medals in Olympic."

His tweet was retweeted more than 200 times, earning appreciation as well as criticism for his stand.