Congress' cow protection pitch in Uttar Pradesh

The Congress has dared Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the plight of cows in cattle shelters in the state and is set to embark on a foot march in Bundelkhand to highlight the issue usually associated with the BJP.

The Congress’ pitch on ‘gau raksha’ comes in the wake of the death of several cows in a gaushala, apparently due to starvation, a stark reminder of the condition of cattle in a state ruled by the BJP which accords utmost importance to the protection of cow and its progeny in its political discourse.

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress is embarking on a ‘Gaay Bachao, Kisan Bachao’ padayatra from Lalitpur to Chitrakoot in the Bundelkhand region of the state on Saturday.

Ahead of the yatra, the Congress claimed that the UP police had placed its leaders -- AICC Secretaries Rohit Chaudhary and Bajirao Khade -- under house arrest.

UP Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, former union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya, among others are expected to lead the yatra.

Earlier this week, AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had shot off a letter to Adityanath expressing concern over the “horrific” condition of cows, amid reports of deaths of several cows in Saujana cattle shelter in Lalitpur district in the state.

“Before coming to power, you had talked of ‘Gau-Vansh raksha’ (cow protection) and setting up of ‘Gaushalas’. The truth is that your government has completely failed in this regard despite announcements by your government,” Priyanka had said in the letter to the chief minister.

The UP chief minister, often seen feeding cows, had said in November that more than five lakh were kept in government-run shelters, while more than eight lakh of them have been housed in cow shelters being run by local bodies in the state.

The state government had launched the Chief Minister Destitute Cows Participation Scheme in August last year offering farmers to adopt stray cattle against an affidavit that they would look after them properly at home.