Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 29, 2026 09:11 AM IST
As the logjam in the Parliament ended on Monday, paving the way for discussions on the NEET paper leak, the Congress Tuesday targeted the Central government over its measures to prevent the menace. Speaking in the Lower House, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi questioned the competency of the new task force formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to oversee the next-generation reforms in the education sector
While speaking about the members of the committee, Gandhi made a veiled reference to IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti as “gaumutra visheshagya” or a “cow urine expert”.
She also pointed out that creating new committees will not work unless their recommendations are implemented. “The Radhakrishna Committee was also formed to bring in reforms. Till date, none of his recommendations have been implemented,” she said. “And now this new committee has an ex-IB chief, an owner of an IT company, and also a ‘gaumutra visheshgya‘ (cow urine expert). What do they know about education?” she asked.
Why the ‘gaumutra expert’ tag?
Though Gandhi did not name him, the ‘gaumutra’ remark has been interpreted as being directed to Kamakoti because of the history of his advocacy for the “benefits” of cow urine.
In January last year, a video of him praising the medicinal benefits of cow urine drew sharp criticsim from the Opposition and rationalist groups.
During a speech at a ‘Go Samrakshana Sala’ event in Chennai on January 15, 2025, that coincided with the Tamil festival of Maatu Pongal, Kamakoti shared an anecdote of a sanyasi who recovered from high fever after consuming gomutra (cow urine). “A prominent sanyasi developed a fever. The idea of calling a doctor was suggested to him… I forgot the name of that sanyasi. He immediately said he would drink gomutra. Gomutra was immediately brought, and he consumed it with much ease. The fever seemed to have disappeared in 15 minutes. So, for antibacterial, antifungal, digestive issues, and irritable bowel syndrome – for many such issues – gaumutra is a very important medicine,” Kamakoti said.
According to people close to him, the speech was in the broader context of promoting organic farming and protecting indigenous cattle breeds. They said his speech was mainly about the discourse on the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and rooted in published scientific studies that explored the bioactive properties of cow urine.
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However, soon after the video clip of Kamakoti’s speech went viral, Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram took to X and said “peddling pseudoscience” is “most unbecoming” of the director.
Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai commented on Kamakoti’s remark and said, “It’s unfortunate that our Chennai IIT Director, who is a very decorated person, who is an expert in AI, quantum computing, he chose to follow his dharma. He chose to pray to god in his own way. That is being politicised by a group of students union. Everybody has the right to practise his religion. I urge them to stop the protest, respect the sanctity of the institution. IIT Chennai is not only the pride of Chennai but the entire country.”
