A BJP MLA from Beed (Maharashtra) seems to claim that the beef ban is neither Hindutava nor does it promote the cause of Hindutava. If indeed it does anything, it distorts price dynamism of cattle market, which alienates farmers from Hindutava. On Thursday, Bhimrao Dhonde criticised his own state government by describing the beef ban as anti-farmer. "Why should you snatch away the poor's meal?" asked Bhimrao Dhonde, who represents Beed's Ashti, during a discussion in the legislative assembly on the state's agrarian crisis. "In times of drought, feeding productive animals itself is a big challenge for farmers. How can a farmer sustain the additional burden of looking after spent cattle?" asked Dhonde. The controversial beef ban, which was imposed by the Maharashtra government in March 2015, has been a cause celebre, but this is perhaps the first time that a ruling party MLA has openly spoken against it. Dhonde's criticism comes two days after the Centre's Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian quipped in Mumbai that he would not comment on the state's beef ban as it would cost him his job. On Tuesday, asked to comment on the economic impact of the ban during an interaction with students at Mumbai University, Subramanian said: "You know that if I answer this question, I will lose my job. But thank you nevertheless for asking this question."