Gujarat Youth Congress wants cow as national animal

The Congress’ youth wing in Gujarat has started demanding that the cow be named the “national animal”.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is doing politics in the name of cow protection, but when it comes to declaring the cow as the national animal, the party becomes silent, which shows its double standards. We want that the cow be named the national animal. Instead of inciting violence and enmity in the name of cow protection, the BJP should ensure that cows don’t die by eating plastic on the roads,” Asfak Malik, president of state Youth Congress, told this newspaper. 

“Two weeks ago, the Youth Congress had started a campaign to name the cow the national animal on the instruction of party state president Bharatsinh Solanki,” Malik said. 

Asked whether the demand for cow to be declared the national animal was in reaction to protests organised by the BJP over slaughter of a calf allegedly by Youth Congress members in Kerala recently, Malik cited examples of Union minister Kiren Rijiju, among several other BJP leaders, who has publicly condemned beef ban.

“The Gujarat Youth Congress has been directed by its state leadership to raise the demand of naming the cow as the national animal across the state. For that, the party’s youth workers, along with senior leaders, are organising protests outside the BJP offices in the state,” Shailesh Amin, Gujarat Pradesh Congress spokesperson, told this newspaper.  

Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior Congress leader, said that the issue was raised by the Gujarat Pradesh Congress. Despite repeated attempts by this newspaper, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Bharatsinh Solanki was not available to comment on the issue.

Earlier this week, Gau Seva Ayaog vice-chairman and BJP leader Chaitaniya Shambhu Maharaj, who is also a senior VHP member, held a protest against the Kerala incident, wherein workers of both the BJP and Congress clashed with each other, leading to injuries to several people.