Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his frustrating silence over the recent spurt of violence by self-proclaimed gau rakshaks or cow vigilantes in Gujarat and across the country, at his first Obama-style town hall in New Delhi on Saturday.
Coming out strongly against it, the Prime Minister said that some ‘gau rakshaks’ are criminals at night, while claiming to be protectors in the day. Furthermore, he said that those who want to serve cows should work towards stopping cows from consuming plastics.
This was followed by another comment on Sunday when Modi, at a party meet in Hyderabad, said:
If you want to attack, attack me, not Dalits. If you want to shoot, shoot me.
RSS Echoes Modi’s Comments, Condemns Attacks in Name of Cow Vigilantism
Echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS on Monday said “some anti-social elements are taking law into their hands in the name of cow protection” and sought “strict action” against them. It strongly condemned the attacks on Dalits in the country, and asked for speedy action against those responsible.
In a public statement, the group said:
Taking law in their hands to harass Dalits is not only illegal but also inhuman.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an RSS affiliate, however, vowed to continue its work related to protection of cow, saying they have been doing it for a long time and will continue the work.
We will not like to comment on the issue. However, cow protection has been going on for long. We will continue to work for it.Surendra Jain, Joint General Secretary, VHP
However, needless to say, Modi’s sudden, vociferous and perhaps borderline dramatic stance against cow vigilantism triggered reactions ranging from relief and pride to skepticism and anger, the latter two being the louder voices from gau sevaks, considering Modi tweeted this right after his town hall speech:
Here’s what some from the political milieu had to say:
CPM: Sitaram Yechury
Yechury interestingly highlighted how Modi skipped an opportune moment to warn BJP leaders against making caustic comments against underprivileged communities in the name of gau raksha.
Kashi Sumeru Peeth: Swami Narendranand Saraswati
The Prime Minister’s statement has somewhere financially benefited the persons who kill cows. Can’t the Prime Minister see that cow meat is being sold in the five-star hotels of Delhi? The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gau Samvardhan Parishad and the Sangh talked the most about cow protection… So, are the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bajrang Dal running shops all these while?Swami Narendranand Swami, Shankaracharya of Kashi Sumeru Peeth speaking to ANI
Calling India a nation of cows, Saraswati said action needs to be initiated against those who maim or kill cows; those who take action “sacrifice their lives for the protection of cows” and don’t simply “open shops”.
To be fair, Modi clarified (read: toned down) his comment by tweeting this soon after:
Congress: Sheila Dikshit
Cow protection is our prime responsibility. If I speak in the context of Uttar Pradesh, the roads are filled with cows. Cow-sheds should be put in place where cows can be kept safe. The BJP worships cows but they don’t protect them.Shiela Dikshit, Congress’ CM candidate for UP, speaking to ANI
Carefully bringing in the Uttar Pradesh angle, Dikshit too lashed out against Modi for blaming cow protectors for atrocities like that against four Dalits in Una, Gujarat recently.
Congress’ Manish Tewari blamed the BJP for the increasing violence by ‘self-styled’ cow vigilantes, saying the party tacitly promoted these groups who are ideological followers of BJP, according to a CNN News18 report.
AIMIM: Asaduddin Owaisi
When Akhlaq was killed, the PM did not say anything. He was also silent when two Muslims were killed in Jharkhand. The PM did not say anything when a truck driver of Jammu was killed. The question is whether these will remain mere words. The PM has to rein in his own people, his party and BJP governments in states.Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM Chief, speaking to ANI
Asking about the delay in commenting on the issue, Owaisi repeatedly stressed on the link between violent incidents of cow vigilantism and the Sangh Parivar. He even pointed out that most such incidents took place in states where the BJP is or has been in power, or is organisationally strong such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
In these states, if somebody’s mother is assaulted, the guilty will not be sentenced for seven years but if there is cow slaughter, he will be imprisoned for seven years.Asaduddin Owaisi
JD(U): Pawan Verma
He is doing or attempting to do some damage control because of Dalit anger and outrage and that of minorities have now become pan-Indian in scale. So this is the half-hearted attempt much too late to do damage control with political electoral considerations in mind.Pawan Verma, Janta Dal (United) leader, speaking to ANI
BJP: GVL Narsimha Rao
He said functioning as a social reformer is the spirit behind Prime Minister Modi’s success with regard to programmes like ‘Make in India’, ‘Swachch Bharat’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Skill India’.GVL Narsimha Rao, BJP leader, speaking to ANI
The party’s statements conveniently included blanket praises for the PM’s successful town hall initiative and other similarly innovative reforms in governance, without any significant mention of Modi’s response to cow vigilantism.
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