Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned those who consider cows as common animals. “Cow is worshiped as mother in Indian tradition,” he said on Monday. The senior BJP leader warned that Muslim religious leaders should warn their followers not to disrespect the mother cow.
Recently, several religious leaders in India have spoken out against declaring the cow as the national animal. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani and other Muslim organizations have demanded that the cow be declared the national animal. There were protests in many places.
The Chief Minister said that no child should be taught to protect the dignity of the mother separately. The people of the country treat their mother and cow with equal respect. Those who call cows animals actually support cow slaughter.
He also said, cow is our mother, cow is not just an animal. Calling cows animals means that their mentality is absolutely brutal. Mother cow is the mother of our country. No formal declaration is required for this. Adityanath said, many scholars and Maulana are demanding to declare cow as national animal. But we say cow is our mother. Our relationship with him is of many births. What is the dignity of the cow, we need not learn from the invaders. We have our own values and traditions and we always respect the cow as mother.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has issued a stern warning to those who have uploaded pictures of cows on social media to wish them the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. He urged the religious leaders to prevent their followers from such provocative acts. “I have seen many people posting pictures of cows on social media to wish Eid-ul-Fitr. They should understand what cow slaughter means in Uttar Pradesh. If anyone tries to do such a thing, he will face dire consequences.
At the same event, Yogi Adityanath handed over land ownership certificates to 1,645 families who had come to India from Pakistan. He claimed that their ancestral property was forcibly taken away due to religious extremism during Partition and innocent Hindus and Sikhs were brutally killed. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for passing the amended Citizenship Act (CA). He claimed that the Act would enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains who fled religious persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship if they stayed in India for more than five years. The chief minister slammed the opposition parties for opposing the CA and said that the opposition was actually encouraging illegal immigrants.