Dairy gone sour: Gir cows may prove a thorn for BJP in Assam polls

A few months after returning to power in May 2021, the BJP-led government in Assam launched a much-publicised initiative by bringing nearly 300 high-yield Gir cows from Gujarat.

Touted as “carriers of revolution” for Assam’s struggling dairy sector, the cows were brought in batches via train and were meant to transform Gorukhuti—a government-funded agricultural project in Darrang district—into a hub of employment for indigenous Assamese youths.

Before the project began, over 1,200 Bengali-speaking Muslims—whom the Bharatiya Janata Party regards as “illegal migrants” from neighbouring Bangladesh—were evicted from the government land. The Gir cows were brought for a dairy farm in the Gorukhuti project, which was headed by BJP MLA Padma Hazarika, who was even granted Cabinet rank by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government. Sarma had promised that the initiative would generate employment for indigenous youth and counter what he called the “silent economic invasion” by “illegal migrants.” 

Four years on, the much-hyped dairy farm has embarrassed the ruling BJP and invited the Opposition’s charge of a “cow scam” just months ahead of Assembly elections. The Opposition—Congress and other parties—has accused the ruling party of the scam after a right to information (RTI) application revealed that several of the Gir cows were allegedly distributed among five BJP MLAs, the party’s Assam state president and Lok Sabha MP Dilip Saikia, and several close associates of the saffron party. The RTI reply also stated that the wives of Cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and former Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, a former BJP state president, received government subsidies meant for dairy projects.

Saikia later admitted to having bought two Gir cows but claimed he returned them and received a refund from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), citing his inability to care for them. Gir cows, known for their high yield, produce an average of 25 to 30 litres of milk per day.

Failed project: As criticism mounted, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma conceded that some of the Gir cows supplied by the NDDB were of “poor quality” and were “sold” to the BJP MLAs and others. Hazarika, who headed the Gorukhuti project, said that the NDDB had rushed the 300 cows even as the Gorukhuti farm had facilities to house only 150. A few of the cows died on the farm, while around 90 were “sold” among public representatives.

The RTI reply revealed that the cows were given to Jayanta Malla Baruah, Diganta Kalita, Bhuban Pegu, Utpal Borah (all BJP MLAs), Dilip Saikia (MP and now BJP’s state president), and others. Saikia is a Lok Sabha member from the Darrang-Udalguri constituency, under which the Gorukhuti project falls. The opposition parties said the RTI replies also revealed that the BJP-led government failed to implement the dairy farm even as it made a lot of hype over the project. “How can they procure the Gir cows without proper groundwork and study about the feasibility of the project? Is this not misuse of public money?” a Congress leader asked.

Alleged scam: Hazarika said the MLAs paid Rs 66,000 to Rs 88,000 for each Gir cow, but the Opposition parties questioned why no tender was floated for the sale of the cattle meant for a public-funded dairy project. “The diversion of resources and livestock under a project supported by over Rs. 25.5 crore in public funds compromises the very objective of government programs designed to promote inclusive development. These actions go against the very principles of transparency, accountability, and equitable access,” Congress MP and the party’s state unit president, Gaurav Gogoi, said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 28. 

Alleging a scam, Gogoi said, “If politically connected individuals are allowed to syphon off benefits meant for the poor, we risk alienating the very people these schemes are meant to uplift.”

“BJP claims to worship cows, but its MLAs and MPs are looting money meant for dairy projects. Their MLAs and MPs are getting subsidies meant for dairy firms, whereas hundreds of unemployed youths are struggling for government support to start and run similar projects for employment,” he said.

Asom Jatiya Parishad, an opposition regional party, demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam involving the Gir cows and asked why the CM remained silent over the irregularities.

Sarma, however, defended the sale of the cows and subsidies given to wives of the minister and MLA. “Today they are ministers. How will the families run when they cease to be the ministers?” Sarma told reporters.

Opposition Congress and others staged protests against the alleged cow scam, during which some even went to the extent of calling the BJP MLAs goru chor, or cow thieves. 

With Assembly elections scheduled for early next year, the alleged scam is expected to be a key issue for the Opposition, as the BJP and its allies—the Asom Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal—aim for a third consecutive term in Assam.