- Priyanka Gandhi criticised a member of the education reform panel as a cow urine expert in Parliament
- Her remarks were seen as targeting IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti, known for cow urine claims
- Prof Kamakoti cited scientific papers supporting cow urine's medicinal properties amid criticism
A brand new BJP vs Congress flashpoint erupted today in Parliament after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described a member of the Centre's newly constituted education reform panel as a "cow urine expert", prompting strong objections from BJP MPs, including Anurag Thakur.
The controversy unfolded during the debate on The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, as Priyanka Gandhi questioned the government's approach to overhauling India's examination system following the National Testing Agency (NTA) crisis.
Although she did not name anyone directly, her remarks were widely interpreted as referring to Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, who is among the six domain experts appointed to a "high-powered" task force announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend reforms aimed at making public examinations leakproof.
What Priyanka Gandhi Said
Addressing the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi questioned the government's reliance on yet another committee to reform India's examination system.
"Hon'ble Speaker, this is what I want to say to the Hon'ble Prime Minister through you," she said. "That maybe they should change their advisors. Creating new committees won't work. No matter who their president is."
She invoked the earlier Radhakrishnan Committee, saying previous recommendations had remained unimplemented.
"The Radhakrishna Committee was also formed to reform the system. To date, one of his recommendations has not been implemented," she said. "And in this new committee there is an ex IB chief, owner of an IT company and there is also a 'gaumutra' (cow urine) expert."
While Priyanka Gandhi did not identify the individual by name, the comments were widely interpreted to be directed at Prof Kamakoti.
Kamakoti's Cow Urine Stand
Prof Kamakoti is well known for his advocacy for the alleged medicinal benefits of cow urine. In January, 2025, he addressed a gathering in Chennai, he said cow urine possessed antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
He also said researchers had conducted experiments on the subject and published scientific papers supporting those claims.
A video of the speech later circulated widely on social media, where critics mocked the remarks as unscientific and questioned whether they were appropriate coming from the head of one of India's premier institutions.
In his defence, he said five scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals supported claims about the anti-infective properties of cow urine. Among the studies he cited was "Peptide profiling in cow urine reveals molecular signature of physiology-driven pathways and in-silico predicted bioactive properties" by Rohit Kumar and others.
According to Prof Kamakoti, the study was conducted by the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, Haryana, published in 2021 and appeared in Nature. He also referred to several review journals, including the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research.
BJP Hits Back
Responding during the Lok Sabha debate, BJP MP Anurag Thakur accused her of insulting a distinguished academic.
"I will answer Priyanka ji after this. The way she makes an innocent face, misleads people, smiles subtly, and even asks the Speaker to smile, she does this while speaking on serious issues. She tries to cover up the wrongdoings and failures of her own government's past," Thakur said.
"But I am saddened by the remarks she made about one of India's great scientists and professors, IIT Madras professor V. Kamakoti ji. He is our former chairman of the Advisory Intelligence Task Force. If he is associated with the RSS, there is nothing wrong with that. You should also join the RSS; you will learn some values and start thinking about the country. I thought Priyanka Gandhi ji would be better than Rahul Gandhi ji and would be slightly better than her brother. At least, she used to smile. But after the remarks she made today about the IIT Madras Director, I feel that the brother and sister are alike; they are on the same path, and perhaps they are consuming something that affects the proper functioning of the brain Maybe they should consume cow urine instead," he added.
