New Delhi: Days after he was elevated to the rank of a Cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government, Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri on Wednesday asked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to create a cow ministry “for the benefit of the state.”
Formerly state Cow Protection Board chairperson, Akhileshwaranand said a cow ministry would help create a “golden Madhya Pradesh.”
“I request chief minister to create a cow ministry. In fact, I had a brief discussion with him on this earlier. CM Chouhan told me that he will restore all the cow shelters, and there will be no shortage of funds," he said.
Cow welfare
"There needs to be willpower and commitment towards the cause of cow welfare," Akhileshwaranand added.
"At present, I am even more hopeful that a cow ministry will be created as the CM is made the chairman of National Agriculture and [the] Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) committee,” Akhileshwaranand told media.
The state government elevated Akhileshwaranand to the rank of cabinet minister on June 13.
Earlier in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state had accorded Minister of State (MoS) status to five Hindu religious leaders.
As per the order of General Administration Department, Minister of State status was accorded to Narmadanand Maharaj, Hariharanand Maharaj, Computer Baba, Bhayyu Maharaj (now dead) and Pandit Yogendra Mahant.
Precedent
On Wednesday, Akhileshwaranand said setting up a cow ministry in Madhya Pradesh would set a precedent for other states.
“First of all, setting up cow ministry will set a positive precedent before other states. Madhya Pradesh gets 15,000 crore [Rs150 billion or Dh8.07 billion] under cow welfare schemes.
I asked the state government how much they spend on cow welfare, they told me they could hardly spend half of it. So I asked them to provide me with a budget of 1,000 crore [Rs10 billion].
"They told me I was not making any unconstitutional demand. I am hopeful they will support me in creating various cow welfare schemes,” he stated.
Akhileshwaranand said Chouhan would inspire future generations if cows were taken care of in the same manner that the chief minister looked after cattle at his home.
“If Rajasthan can have a ‘Directorate of Gauseva’ and if the Chief Minister Chouhan himself could create a ‘Happiness Department’ in the state, then the creation of a cow ministry [is] also in the interests of the people,” he added.
Prior to his new appointment, Akhileshwaranand had headed the Cow Protection Board since 2016.
He said the classification of cows under the Animal Husbandry Department, along with other animals, must end.
“The cows in the state should exclusively come under the domain of the cow ministry. The 96,000 square kilometres of jungle area in the state was a resting spot for cows. The cow shelters across the state could act as nodal points for day-to-day functioning of the proposed cow ministry,” he said.
