Sticking to his party's 'Hindutva' agenda, prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that cows might be a 'sin' for some people but they were 'revered' by others.
Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a milk plant and some other developmental projects in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, Modi also took potshots at his rivals saying that they never took any interest in the development of Uttar Pradesh and instead only promoted 'mafiaraj'.
''Kuch logon ne aise halat paida kar diye hain ki hamare desh mein gaay ki baat karna, gobar dhan ki baat karna gunah ban gaya hai...gaay kuch logon ke liye gunah ho sakti hai par hamare liye woh mata hai, poojniya hai'' (some people have created a situation in the country as if talking about cows and dung is a sin....cows may be sin for some but for us it is our mother....it is revered) Modi said.
Stating that India produced milk worth Rs 8.5 lakh crore, the prime minister said that more than eight-core families in the country were dependent for their livelihood on the dairy sector.
Modi also attacked his rivals for what he said was not taking any interest in the development of the state. ''Some people become angry when the double engine government (centre and UP) takes measures for the development of the state.....such people will get angrier as we take more measures for the progress of the state,'' he added.
''The word development notes there in their (rivals) dictionary...for them development means mafiaraj, promoting nepotism and grabbing lands and houses of the people,'' Modi said.
The prime minister also sought to paint his rivals as 'anti-Hindu' by saying that the latter did not like the renovation and grandeur of Kashi (the old name of Varanasi) Vishwanath Dham.
At his earlier public meetings also, Modi had invoked Baba Vishwanath (Lord Shiva), Ganga and Ram Temple.
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