Cong chants save-cow tune, hits out at BJP over Hingonia deaths |Hindustan Times
The Congress organised ‘Save the Cow’ rallies across the state on Saturday to protest against the death of over 500 cows in Hingonia Cow Rehabilitation Centre, located on the outskirts of the state capital.
The Opposition said the ruling party did politics over cows around the year for political gain, but could not take care of them at a government-run rehab centre. They demanded an apology from the ruling party for failing to protect cows, revered as mother by the Hindus.
Leading the march in Kota, former urban development and housing minister Shanti Dhariwal said: “(The) BJP does politics on cow and temple to attain power, but it overlooks them after coming to power.”
In Ajmer, the district Congress committee workers marched from the party office to Gandhi Bhawan and shouted slogans, labelling the government as ‘cow killer’.
“Rajasthan is the first state in the country where there is a separate cow ministry. Now it has become the first state in the country where hundreds of cows died in a government-run cow shelter,” said former Congress minister Lalit Bhati. “The BJP needs cows for votes and not because they are considered scared by Hindus.”
Protest marches were also organised in Udaipur and Bharatpur. In Bharatpur, state Congress vice president and party’s legislator from Kumher constituency, Deeg Vishvendra Singh, claimed that bovines were starving in the state due to lack of proper healthcare and fodder.
He urged Hindus to adopt cows. “Every Hindu household must adopt a cow so that bovines don’t stray and get smuggled.”
In Alwar, Congmen forcibly open bridge
The ‘Save the Cow’ rally in Alwar took a different turn when Congress workers forcibly inaugurated the Kalimori bridge. The party workers claimed that the district administration had delayed inauguration of the bridge even when it was ready for public use for last two months.
The roadblocks were reinstated on the bridge after a couple of hours by the police. No FIR has been filed in the incident so far.
After protesting against the cow deaths in the state capital, the Congressmen started removing roadblocks from the bridge. According to sources, the move was premeditated.
Earlier, in 2014, the Congress had thrown the North-East Block flyover open to public forcibly.
Justifying the move, district Congress president, Tikaram Juli, told HT: “The bridge is ready for two months now and the public was facing a lot of problem in commuting through the alternate route. During the rains, accidents are happening on the overcrowded road below the bridge…When I was in a rally protesting against the Hingonia Gaushala incident, I got the news that the mob was trying to remove blockades on the bridge. We reached there immediately and supported the crowd.”
