On May 10, a group of animal ‘activists’ gate-crashed former union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel’s seminar on the menace of stray dogs at Constitution Club to mark their protest. Two women, one of which was animal activist Yogita Bhayana, exchanged slaps. Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media, including the “slap-gate”. In the video, when Bhayana and other activists were being forced out of the meeting by the attendees and the police, she slapped a woman and got slapped in return.
कुत्तों के काटने की समस्या पर पूर्व केंद्रीय मंत्री @VijayGoelBJP ने दिल्ली में विचार गोष्ठी रखी.
— सूरज सिंह/Suraj Singh 🇮🇳 (@SurajSolanki) May 10, 2023
मीटिंग में "पशु प्रेम" के नाम पर महिलाओं में चले थप्पड़.
जमकर हुई खींचतान, कहासुनी और गाली गलौच. @SandhyaTimes4u @NBTDilli pic.twitter.com/FSKdcMOMbi
Bhayana claimed the organisers of the seminar misbehaved with them. She said, “We wanted to speak our minds. Rather than giving us a platform, they started thrashing us.” She further claimed the organisers used a photograph of a ‘ferocious dog’ across the city in promotional posters for the seminar. She further claimed that the seminar aimed to have a discussion on the lines of an ‘anti-stray dogs’ drive.
Goel accused ‘animal lovers’ of disrupting the seminar
On the other hand, BJP leader Vijay Goel accused the group of animal lovers of disrupting the seminar. He said that the seminar was held to discuss possible solutions to the menace of stray dogs amid the increasing incidents of people getting bitten by stray dogs.
He added that the Constitution Club officials informed him that BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, who is “famous” for her animal activism, booked the Deputy Speaker’s Hall at the same time Goel booked the Speaker’s Hall for the seminar.
Goel accused people attending Gandhi’s event of forcing their way into his seminar and creating a ruckus. He said, “One woman climbed on the stage and spoke directly on the mike. There was uproar in the whole meeting. The police had to intervene to handle the situation.” He added, “We are animal lovers; we are not anti-animal. This campaign launched by us should not be considered anti-animal.”
Goel said out of approximately 6.4 stray dogs nationwide, six lakhs are in Delhi alone. He said, “Thirty-six per cent of dog bites in the world occur in Delhi. And in Delhi alone, in 6 months, more than 1 lakh dog bite cases are coming only in government hospitals. We all agree on one thing that the number of stray dogs should not increase. There is only one solution for this that these dogs should be sterilised as much as possible.”
In a video statement, Goel said, “There was an RWA meeting at the Constitution Club to discuss the menace of stray dogs. RWA representatives from around the city came to participate. We discussed possible solutions and agreed upon them too. However, you will be amazed to know that parallel to the seminar; another event was organised in the name of Maneka Gandhi. I am not sure if Menaka Gandhi was involved in it or not. They gate-crashed out meeting and created a ruckus.”
आवारा कुत्तों के काटने की बढ़ती समस्या और उसके समाधान को लेकर आज कांस्टीट्यूशन क्लब में विचार संगोष्ठी का आयोजन किया गया।
— Vijay Goel (@VijayGoelBJP) May 10, 2023
आप भी देखिये कुछ लोगों ने हंगामा करने की कोशिश की पर विचार संगोष्ठी सफलतापूर्वक सम्पन हुई और आए सभी लोगों ने अपने-अपने विचार और समाधान रखे। #DogBiteSolution pic.twitter.com/DXo53OnL9x
In the video statement, there was a clip where Bhayana was heard saying, “Are you a dog? You have used a photograph of a dog [in the poster]. This meeting is not going to happen.” The other activists were heard shaming Goel for organising the meeting while he kept requesting them to calm down with folded hands.
“If you see the meeting video, you will notice they kept saying that they would not allow the meeting to occur. We told them, “We are dog lovers. We are animal lovers. We all are trying to find a solution for the incidents of dog biting lakhs of people. You must know that people are anxious because of the stray dog menace. They have started walking with sticks in their hands.”
He added, “Before people do not see dogs with hate and respect them, it is essential that we take some steps. But they wanted to create a ruckus, and they did. Those who created a ruckus were eventually thrown out of the seminar, and the meeting continued.” He further vouched for sterilisation drives, a new dog adoption policy and the formation of a committee to oversee possible amendments to the current laws. He also called for reducing the price of anti-rabies injections.
Stray dog menace
The menace of stray dogs has increased exponentially over the years. Countless incidents have occurred where children, women and the elderly reportedly got bitten or even mauled to death by stray dogs. While animal lovers and courts have sided with the stray dogs, there has been uproar among the general public over the spike in such incidents. Dog lovers and animal activists often get into heated arguments with people over feeding stray dogs in and around the city, especially in gated societies.
In April 2023, stray dogs reportedly snatched an infant from the cradle and killed her in Ahmedabad. Again in the same month, a 9-year-old boy was reportedly attacked by stray dogs while he was going to a mosque in Karnataka. He was rescued by a police officer and hospitalised. A week before these two incidents, a 65-year-old man identified as Safdar Ali was mauled to death by dogs on the AMU campus. The video of the incident had gone viral on social media.
