Help save cattle, Pejawar seer tells authorities

Paryaya Sri Pejawar Mutt seer Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swami has urged authorities to take measures to conserve cattle following the Constitutional statutes introduced By Dr B R Ambedkar.

The seer was speaking after inaugurating the day-long hunger strike under the campaign to save cattle organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in association with Hindu Jagaran Vedike, Bajrang Dal, Go Pariwar and Go Shalegala Karnataka Rajya Okkuta.

The Paryaya Swami questioned the people who uphold the ideologies of Ambedkar and repeatedly mention his name seeking social justice but are blind towards the Constitutional statutes proposed by Ambedkar to protect cattle.

“There is no communal disharmony hidden in the issue of conserving the cattle. Everyone should join hands keeping in mind the fact that preserving cattle stock is not the issue of religious disharmony, instead it is the essence of humanity. Everyone, irrespective of religion and caste, consume milk. Hence it is the foremost duty of each one to protect cattle,” he called.

Goshalas

Pejawar Mutt junior pontiff Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swami said that goshalas should be set up everywhere to rear cattle as, in most of the cases, the people are unable to take care of their own aged parents. Goshalas can be promoted in temples and mutts. Wastes from vegetable shops, temples and grass grown on barren land can be used to feed cattle, he suggested.

Sri Anegundi Samsthana seer Sri Kalahasthendrasaraswati Swami said the rich, instead of adopting dogs as their pets, should go for cattle. The public signed a memorandum on the occasion appealing for the support of the state and the Central governments to conserve cattle.

In Mangaluru

Urging the Central government to enact a stringent law banning cow slaughter either by utilising the provision of the Constitution or by amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, the members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal staged the Gau Satyagraha in Mangaluru on Sunday.

In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the protesters said that, from time immemorial, the country has believed in the tradition of worshipping the cow and its progeny. A provision for seven years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1 lakh as punishment for slaughter of cow and its progeny should be made by the government, the protesters demanded.

They said that the government should declare the cow and its progeny as national honour and pride. Reminding the NDA government on its election manifesto, the protesters said that the BJP had promised to initiate measures to provide necessary legal framework to protect the cow and its progeny. Now, the time has come for the party to fulfil the promise.

The memorandum said that the Transport of Cattle Rules 1978 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 1960 do not provide for any stringent punishment for cattle lifters and those who transport illegally. As a result, cattle are transported in an inhuman manner.

The protesters also urged the Centre to direct all the states to utilise the cow grazing land by growing grass to ensure the availability of sufficient fodder in each village at lower price.