Touching cow drives away negativity: Maha minister

In a controversial statement, Maharashtra minister Yashomati Thakur has said that touching cows can remove negativity.
"Our culture says, if you touch cows, all negativity would go away," said Thakur, who is a child welfare minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, on Sunday.

The 45-year-old MLA from Teosa in Amravati district is also the working president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. She was once part of the team of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Thakur's comments came on Sunday at the Sarshi village in Teosa, at a function organised to mark the death anniversary of a cow, which the villagers used to worship as Goddess.
She went on to add that mere 'darshan' of a holy cow could lead to a decline in negative energy.

Thakur also said that people's wishes can come true if they worship Lord Vitthal. In fact, comments of similar nature had come in the past from BJP and Sangh parivar leaders, who were then criticised by the Congress.

While no immediate comment was available from top Congress leaders, senior NCP leader and state housing minister Dr Jitendra Awhad said: "If she has said this, I disagree....but, I do not know whether she has said it or not."

In just a span of a few days, this is the second controversial statement from Thakur, a three-time MLA. "We have just come to power, our pockets are not warm enough yet," she had said while canvassing for the Washim zilla parishad elections, just days after she was sworn in as a minister.

A clip of her speech making connection between cows and negativity has gone viral on social media. Later she told a channel that there was nothing superstitious about it. "All farmers love their cows and bulls. There is nothing superstitious about it. I don't know why it is being taken otherwise. I belong to Congress and believe in sarvadharm. I am a Hindu but I also go to dargah."