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News Desk: In Gujarat, the Congress and BJP engaged in a war of words over a Allahabad High Court order which said that cow should be declared as India’s national animal.
The BJP has said its government takes strict action against those who indulge in cow slaughter in Gujarat, while the opposition Congress accused the ruling party of using the animal revered by Hindus to get votes in elections.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said “We consider cows as our mother. In our Hindu culture and in our country, cows are worshiped as gau mata for thousands and thousands of years, we worship them on many occasions during the year”
“In line with our belief, the central government and the state government are working for the protection of cows. In Gujarat, we have a law against cow slaughter, if anybody kills cows here we take strict action against them as per law” Patel added.
In reply, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani of the Congress said “The BJP shows its respect for cows and the Ganga only to get votes. People have realised this. Under the BJP government, beef export is highest so far”
After Dhanani’s barbs, Patel on Friday evening said in Mehsana that cow protection, just like Ram Temple, is not an election issue for the BJP.
This is one of the main issues that the BJP has been taking up since the time of its formation as cows are revered in Hindu culture and are being worshiped for thousands of years, the Deputy Chief Minister said.
“Since the time of the Jan Sangh, we have been demanding a law to ban cow slaughter. We have done many agitations for it when we were not in power even in a single municipality in Gujarat.
“Now also we will do whatever is required to be done for the protection of cows. Our government has financially helped gaushalas three times during the Covid-19 pandemic to save cows as inflow of donations was less during this time” Patel said.
Allahabad High Court order
As per the Allahabad High Court order, cow should be declared as India’s national animal and cow protection should be included as a fundamental right of Hindus.
