New Delhi, Nov 5: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday joined the growing chorus of people who have protested the killing of man-eating tigress Avni.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress chief said that greatness of the nation is judged by the way its animals are treated.

Tigress Avni, who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 13 people in the past two years, was killed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Friday as part of an operation.

Avni is survived by her two cubs who are 10 months old.

She was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asgar Ali, son of famous sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali, at compartment no 149 of Borati forest under the jurisdiction of the Ralegaon police station.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Sunday lashed out at the BJP-led Maharashtra government over the "ghastly murder" of man-eating tigress Avni, calling it a "straight case of crime".

Reacting to the killing of Avni, Gandhi in a series of tweets lashed out at the Maharashtra government for giving the orders to kill her despite opposition from several stakeholders.

"I am deeply saddened by the way tigress Avni has been brutally murdered in Yavatmal," she said in a tweet.

"It is nothing but a straight case of crime. Despite several requests from many stakeholders, (Sudhir) Mungantiwar, Minister for Forests, Maharashtra, gave orders for the killing," she said in another tweet.

She said she is going to take up the matter "very strongly" with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.