Cow protection mooted by Ambedkar, not BJP, says Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday asked the Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha to stop giving a political colour to cow-related violence, saying it could never be a partisan issue.

Replying to a debate on the issue of beef-related violence and lynching, Jaitley said, “Violence can never be a partisan issue and oppression in the name of cow will not be tolerated.”

He held that the protection of cows was not introduced by the BJP. He quoted Article 48 of the Constitution, which calls upon the state to protect cows from slaughter, saying it was written by Dr B R Ambedkar.

“Then, there was not a state where the BJP was in power. It was during (Jawaharlal) Nehru’s rule,” he said. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party was not seeking to support the slaughter of cows.

Jaitley said, “Wherever acts of violence and lynching have erupted, legal proceedings and charge sheets have been filed in a systematic way. Sensitivity to the cow could not justify violence.”