New Delhi: BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja on Monday triggered fresh controversy by his statement over cow-slaughter. An MLA from Ramgarh in Rajasthan, Ahuja said that cow slaughtering is a bigger crime than terrorism and that it is natural for people to get outraged when a cow is slaughtered. Over the incidents of lynching He said: “If cows are killed, people will be angry and cow smugglers will face consequences." He said "sentiments of crores of Hindus get hurt, when a cow is killed." "Cow slaughtering is a bigger crime than terrorism. Terrorists kill two to three people, but when a cow is killed, sentiments of crores of Hindus get hurt," Ahuja said. The BJP MLA's statement comes on the backdrop of recent mob lynching incident in Rajasthan's Alwar district where a Muslim man named Rakbar Khan was beaten to death on the suspicion of cow smuggling. The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018. The Supreme Court on July 17 asked the Centre to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence. (with ANI inputs)