India, Sept. 14 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at animal rights activists on Friday, during an event at New Delhi's Vigyan Bhavan to highlight what he called their selective concern for animals.

"Recently, I met some animal lovers," Modi said, pausing as the audience broke into laughter. He then added: "Why are you laughing? Our country has many such people (animal lovers), and the unique thing is most of them do not consider the cow as an animal." The remark drew laughter from the gathering, including union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

The Prime Minister's comment came against the backdrop of intense debate over a Supreme Court directive to civic bodies in Delhi-NCR ordering blanket removal of stray dogs from ...