Taking the fight for cow protection (gau raksha) a notch higher, the right-wing organization -- Vishwa Hindu Parishad—has offered to “equip the gau rakshaks to deal with cow slaughter.”
Escalating the demand to enact a law banning cow slaughter across the country, controversial VHP leader Praveen Togadia on Monday said ,"We shall equip gau rakshaks (cow protectors) to deal with cow slaughterers.”
"We cannot allow anybody to sacrifice our sacred cows at any cost. The VHP men assigned to protect cows shouldn't care about any criticism. We shall soon intensify our movement against cow slaughter," Togadia was quoted as addressing his audience in Aligarh.
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While he did not elaborate on how his organization will ‘equip’ the vigilantes, The Telegraph reported another VHP official saying that the gau rakshaks and the "dharma yoddhas" (holy warriors) would be imparted arms training.
"We already train our members to use arms. Equipping the gau rakshaks or appointing dharma yoddhas means imparting similar training and teaching them to protect cows and spread the Hindu religion. They will also learn how to deal with a mob in an adverse situation," the official told the paper.
The statement comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of action against violent incidents of cow vigilantism. Rebuking such incidents Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned gau rakshaks of strict action, urging state governments to keep the "anti-social elements" under check.
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Prime Minister Modi further urged all parties to extend their support to the Government in fighting corruption and the issue of communal violence in the name of cow protection.
He added that State Governments must ensure the maintenance of law and order and strict action must be taken against those who break the law.
