Proposed cow protection rally faces object in north east

Cow protection rally sparks backlash from northeastern parties, including BJP, over anti-beef stance and communal harmony concerns.

A rally by a cow protection group has earned the wrath of several northeastern parties, including the Nagaland unit of the BJP.

Meghalaya Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma on Monday expressed concern over the Gau Dhwat Sthapana Bharat Yatra by the representatives of Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand to hold the rally on October 2 seeking the declaration of the cow as the ‘mother of the nation’ and a cow slaughter-free India.

The minster is a leader of the National People’s Party, an ally of the BJP.

“I request the organisers of such rallies not to enact this drama. They can hold the rally elsewhere in the country,” Mr. Sangma said, asserting “extremists” have no right to dictate what people should or should not eat.

“Nobody on earth can force me to stop eating a food I like and beef is my favourite food,” he said and urged people not to link beef to any religion.

Some of the State’s political parties and some social organisations have been exerting pressure on the government to not allow the rally in Meghalaya. The regional Voice of the People Party (VPP) said the yatra could disturb peace and communal harmony in the State.

“While we fully support and uphold the principle of freedom of religion as enshrined in our Constitution, we are deeply troubled by the potential implications such an event could have on communal harmony in our State,” the VPP’s Shillong MP Ricky J. Syngkon said in a letter written to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.