Varanasi: Former Supreme Court judge Markande Katju on Saturday said cow was just another animal “which cannot be anyone’s mother”.
“If I like to eat beef then what’s the harm in it, people worldwide consume beef, if I like to eat then who can stop me,” he said during a meeting at Benaras Hindu University here.
Katju said he, too, ate beef and there was no harm in it.
“Are those people across the world who eat beef bad and only we (in the country) who don’t eat are saints and seers. What’s the harm in it when people eat beef, I too eat and will even continue to eat further,” he said.
He described the killing of the man near New Delhi over rumours that he had consumed beef as “politically motivated”.
The former judge strongly condemned the killing of the man in Dadri and demanded severe punishment to those involved in it.
Later, agitated over Katju’s remarks, several students staged protest and shouted slogans against him.
They also tried to block the way of Katju while he was heading to the seminar hall. Later the security guards shielded Katju and took him with them.