VHP wants separate law, ministry to protect cow

Claiming that the Atal Behari Vajpayee government was ready with a draft law on cow protection, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has asked the Narendra Modi led NDA dispensation at the Centre to complete the unfinished task and pass the law in the Parliament at the earliest.

The VHP has also sought from the Modi government a ministry for cow protection, besides bringing the subject of cow-protection under the concurrent list of the Constitution. VHP international general secretary Champat Rai, while speaking to this newspaper, said the government should act fast on the issue of cow protection. “The draft law was ready when the Vajpayee government was in power. However, it did not see the light of day. The government now should enact the law by bringing the subject into the concurrent list of the Constitution,” said Mr Rai, while adding that a separate ministry for cow protection should be set up.

The VHP leader stressed that the law should be such that it would deter people from killing cows and consuming cow-meat. “The law should protect the emotions of Hindus, who consider cows as their mothers. The Hindus will fight to protect their emotions,” he added. The VHP is to launch a week long nationwide “Gopashtami” campaign from November 8. “We will hold programmes at 5000 places, which have population of more than one lakh, to bring the issue of cow-protection to the forefront,” said Mr Rai.

When asked if he justified the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in a village in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh over the rumour that he had consumed beef, a defiant Mr Rai stated, “Hindus will fight to ensure that their emotions concerning cows are not violated.” While beef is consumed in Kerala and Northeast and there has been difference of opinion within the ruling BJP over the issue, Mr Rai maintained that people in such regions should not consumer cow meat and his organisation would launch a campaign there to persuade people to change their habits. “Has anyone yet told the benefits of cows to the people of Northeast and Kerala The government must engage with the people in these regions. We have asked the saints in Assam to persuade the people in the Northeast to understand the importance of cows,” said Mr Rai.

The VHP leader claimed that Namdhari Sikhs sacrificed their lives for protection of cows, for which even Shivaji and Guru Govind Singh fought.