"Importing Cheetahs, Letting Them Die...": BJP's Varun Gandhi Attacks Own Party Again

The BJP MP's remarks come amid reports of the next batch of cheetahs being introduced in a sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Nine of the big cats died at Kuno National Park in five months this year.

In yet another attack on his own party and the Centre, BJP MP Varun Gandhi has termed bringing cheetahs from Africa and allowing them to die "cruelty and negligence", and called for a focus on conserving India's endangered species. Importing cheetahs from Africa and allowing nine of them to die in a foreign land is not just cruelty, it's an appalling display of negligence.We should focus on conserving our own endangered species and habitats rather than contributing to the suffering of these magnificent… https://t.co/atB0hFE8wC

Mr Gandhi's remarks come in the backdrop of nine cheetah deaths in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park in a span of five months, and amid reports of the next batch of the big cats being brought from South Africa and introduced into the state's Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

As part of Project Cheetah, the first batch of the big cats, brought from Namibia, had been released in Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday -  September 17 - last year. Sunday will be the first anniversary of Project Cheetah.