Self-proclaimed 'Gau Rakshaks' make me angry: Modi attacks cow vigilantes

New Delhi: Sending a strong signal to cow vigilantes who have unleashed violent attacks on Muslims and dalits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that most of them are “anti-social” elements running “shops” in the name of cow protection and that makes him “very angry”.

Mindful of the fact that increasing attacks on dalits may hit the BJP’s prospects in the elections in Gujarat, due next year, Mr Modi said that running such self-proclaimed help groups does not give anyone the licence to harass others.

Mr Modi’s sharp denouncement came during his first-ever Town Hall interaction at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Saturday at an event to mark the second anniversary of his government’s MyGov initiative.  He added that most of these cow vigilantes run illegal activities at night and become “Gau Rakshaks” during the day.

Stop cows from eating plastic: Modi
“It makes me angry that people are running shops in the name of cow protection. Most of them are anti-social elements hiding behind the mask of cow protection. I will ask state governments to prepare a dossier on such people as 80 per cent of them will be found to be involved in anti-social activities which no society will approve of,” he said.

His comments come at a time when his government and BJP are facing flak over incidents of violence against dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Noting that more cows die from consuming plastics than slaughter, he said those who want to serve the cow should rather work towards stopping them from eating plastics. On foreign policy, Mr Modi said, “India First is the central point (of our foreign policy).

It is about protecting India’s strategic interest, it is to ensure that India marches forward in achieving economic prosperity by leaps and bounds and reaches the position which it is destined to reach.”

The Prime Minister emphasised on the need to expedite redressal of public grievances within a stipulated time frame. The PM underlined the fact that good governance is all about making things simpler for people and cutting down on unnecessary bureaucracy, adding that good grievance redressal mechanism is one of the biggest strengths of a democracy.