An MP in Covid-ravaged India has been blasted for her "disturbing" claim that drinking cow urine every day prevents her from catching the virus.
Controversial politician Pragya Thakur hailed it a "life-saver" - despite doctors repeatedly telling people not to use cow excrement as a way to treat coronavirus as the country continues to be battered by a deadly second wave.
MP Pragya Thakur has been criticised for her claim that drinking cow urine stops her catching Covid
Doctors say there is no evidence cow urine boosts immunity against Covid
The MP, who is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and represents Bhopal, claimed drinking cow pee protects her from Covid.
She has been slammed for her remarks which outraged politicians say "invite more devastation" by "discouraging people from getting the jab".
"If we have desi gau mutra (urine from an indigenous cow) every day, then it cures lung infection from Covid," Thakur said during a party gathering on Monday.
"I am in deep pain but I take cow urine every day. So now, I don't have to take any medicine against coronavirus and I don't have coronavirus.
"Cow urine is a life-saver."
Her comments have been branded as an "insult" to healthcare workers who are grappling with soaring numbers of cases and deaths in the South Asian country.
Many Hindus believe cow urine can be used as a medicine
Doctors in India have repeatedly warned people not to use cow pee to attempt to cure Covid
Kunwar Danish Ali, an MP for the Bahujan Samaj Party, said: "Losing 50 more doctors yesterday to Covid-19 is so disturbing.
"What is more disturbing is the unscientific and illogical statement from a BJP MP that drinking cow urine saved her from Covid.
"This will ultimately discourage people from vaccination and invite more devastation."
Meanwhile, TRS Party Social Media Convenor Jagan Patameedi added: "Statements like these are an insult to all virologists, frontline workers who are doing everything beyond their capacity to save lives."
Despite her whacky claim, Thakur was admitted to a hospital in Delhi back in December with Covid symptoms, reports NDTV.
But it's not the first time she's sparked fury with her comments, as two years ago she claimed that a mix of cow urine and other products from the animal had cured her cancer.
Doctors have implored people to stop attempting to use cow dung and urine to try to treat or prevent Covid as there is no scientific evidence to support the alternative method.
There are fears it could even risk spreading the deadly disease faster.
Indian Medical Association lead Dr JA Jayalal added: "There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine boosts immunity against Covid-19."
As the pandemic picked up pace last March, hundreds of Hindu worshippers sipped cups of cow urine in a bid to ward off the coronavirus.
One attendee of the party in Delhi said participants also bathed in cow dung and avoid "English medicine".
Many Hindus consider the cow sacred, and some drink cow urine, believing it can be used as a medicine - and may even cure cancer.
DEADLY SECOND WAVE
India is now battling a second wave of coronavirus, recording thousands of new cases a day and devastating numbers of deaths.
The country has recorded more than 25million cases of Covid and almost 280,000 deaths.
It comes as cops were pictured beating lockdown rule breakers with sticks in an Indian state after new curfew rules were imposed.
Lockdown orders have been put into place in Assam as the state attempts to curb its surging infection rate.
Police are strictly enforcing measures, with truncheon-wielding officers seen running after those defying rules and even striking them with the long bats.
Meanwhile, masses of dead bodies buried in shallow sand graves washed up on the banks of the river Ganges with cremation costs tripling.
Police were forced to urge people in Uttar Pradesh - the country's most populous state - not to dispose of the bodies of their relatives in the water as thousands continue to die every day in the country.
Torrential rainfall exposed countless bodies wrapped in orange, yellow and red cloths on a wide, flat riverbank in Prayagraj - leading to speculation that they are the remains of Covid-19 victims.
While officials say the riverside burials have taken place for decades, more seem to be relying on the practice due to the sheer numbers dying in the shadow of the pandemic.
Home > News > < General News > > Indian MP slammed for claiming drinking cow urine protects her from Covid as country ravaged by second wave catastrophe
18/05/2021 15:34 
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