Madhya Pradesh BJP leader urges garba participants to sip ‘gaumutra’ before entering pandals during Navratri, sparks row

A BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh's Indore has urged garba organisers to make participants sip “gamutra” (cow urine) before their entry to pandals,  PTI reported. BJP leader Chintu Verma's statement sparked a row and triggered a severe backlash from opposition parties which termed it as a “new tactic of polarisation.”

Garba is an energetic folk dance of Gujarat that is popular beyond the state, and its pandals are set up in multiple cities of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, among other states, during the Navratri. 

Signifying the practice's importance in Sanatan culture, BJP district president Chintu Verma told reporters that he requested garba organisers to ensure that garba participants do “aachman  with gamutra” (cow urine) before entering pandals for the fold dance sessions.

Aachaman is a practice followed by Hindus before the beginning of a sacred ritual. During this process, they take a sip of water while reciting mantras for purification.

"We have requested organisers to ensure devotees do aachaman with cow urine before allowing them to enter garba pandals," PTI quoted Verma as saying. 

‘No question of refusing aachaman’: Verma

Explaining the rationale behind his demand for the entry of garba participants, Verma said documents like Aadhaar can be edited but “there is no question of a Hindu refusing aachaman".

"Aadhaar card can be edited. However, if a person is a Hindu, he will enter the Garba pandal only after aachaman of cow urine and there is no question of refusing it," Verma told PTI.

BJP's new trick of polarisation politics: Congress

Criticising the BJP leader for his demand, Congress spokesperson Neelabh Shukla attacked the BJP for staying mum on the true issues related to cow welfare and instead focussing on politicising the issue. Shukla alleged the BJP of staying silent on the plight of cow shelters and said that the party was only interested in polarising the public.

He also demanded BJP leaders to share their own videos of taking sip of gaumutra before entering pandals on social media before advising others to do the same. "Raising the cow urine aachman demand is the BJP's new trick of playing polarisation politics,'' he said.