NEW DELHI: Days after BJP MP and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi stirred up a controversy by alleging that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) used to sell its cows to butchers, the society has sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to her. It was IKSCON vice president and spokesperson Radharamn Das who announced this on X.

“We have sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Mrs. Maneka Gandhi for levelling completely unfounded allegations against ISKCON,” Radharamn Das said.

“The worldwide community of ISKCON devotees, supporters, and well-wishers are deeply pained by these defamatory, slanderous, and malicious accusations. We will not leave any stone unturned in our pursuit of justice against the fallacious propaganda against ISKCON, ” he said.

The legal defamation notice against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, who is also an animal rights activist, came days after one of her videos went viral on social media on September 27.

In the video, Maneka can be heard saying: “ISKCON is the biggest cheat in the country. It maintains gaushalas and gets benefits from the government, including vast lands.”

Maneka also recalled her visit to ISKCON’s Anantpur Gaushala in Andhra Pradesh, where she claimed that she couldn’t find any cow that doesn’t give milk or calves.

“There was no dry cow in the entire dairy. Not a single calf was there. It means all were sold. ISKCON is selling all its cows to the butchers. No one else does this as much as they do. And they go on and sing ‘Hare Ram Hare Krishna’ on the roads. Then they say their entire life is dependent on milk. Probably, no one has sold as many cattle to the butchers as they did,” she alleged.