A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Assam on Monday claimed that cow urine and cow dung are a cure for Covid-19, PTI reported. Suman Haripriya added that these two substances can be used to cure cancer too.

“We all know that cow dung is very helpful,” Haripriya said during a discussion on smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh. “Likewise, when cow urine is sprayed, it purifies an area...I believe something similar could be done with “gaumutra” and “gobar” to cure coronavirus.”

Haripriya also claimed that the economy of Bangladesh has strengthened on the back of smuggled cows from India, primarily Assam. “Bangladesh is the second largest beef exporter in the world,” she said. “All these cows are our cows. Earlier the Congress government did nothing to stop smuggling of cows.” She said that these days, the smugglers use the river route to steal Indian cows.

The toll in the novel coronavirus, which began in Hubei province of China in December, has so far killed over 3,000 people across the world. In India, six cases have been reported, though there have been no deaths.