The Election Commission (EC) has filed an FIR against Gauripur BJP candidate Banendra Kumar Mushahary for his remarks on beef earlier yesterday during an election meeting.
The FIR has been lodged at the Gauripur police station.
Mushahary, who is contesting from Gauripur constituency for BJP, had claimed that beef is the "national dish of India". He made the remark at an election meeting in a Muslim-dominated area in the district.
"How can anyone try to ban beef? It is the National Dish of India," he said at the meeting.
He added that beef is an international dish and "educated Muslims in the rural areas of Assam should understand that no one can ban the sale of beef in Assam or anywhere in India."
Notably, the BJP has always been campaigning for beef ban across the country. Mushahary's statement greatly contradicts the party's ideologies and principles.
Mushahary, a veteran politician, joined the BJP last year in December. He was first elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly in 1996 as an independent candidate from Gauripur constituency in Dhubri district.
In 2011, he was elected as an AGP candidate from Gauripur. Later, he joined the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and was elected as an MLA for the third time.
Meanwhile, BJP workers in the districts have expressed serious concern on Mushahary's remarks and demanded that he tender an apology.
Moreover, members of Purbanchal Hindu Aikya Mancha filed an FIR at Dispur police station and demanded actions against the BJP candidate for violating Model Code of Conduct which was enforced in February 26 in poll-bound Assam.
