The Madhya Pradesh government will establish a “cabinet” for the protection of cows, and the first meeting of this unique panel will be held on November 22 in Agar Malwa. The announcement comes a day after the state shared its plans to formulate a law to deter ‘love jihad’.
On the ‘cow cabinet’, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said: “It has been decided to establish a ‘cabinet’ for the protection and promotion of livestock in the state. Livestock, Forests, Panchayat and Rural Development, Revenue, The Department of Home and Farmer Welfare will be included in the panel. The first meeting will be held on November 22 at noon in Gopashtami at Gau Shrine, Agar Malwa. “
Later that day, the state government issued orders for the formation of this cabinet. CM Chouhan will be the president and the other five member ministers are Interior Minister Narottam Mishra, Forestry Minister Vijay Shah, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Mahendra Sisodia and Livestock Minister Prem Singh Patel .
The additional Chief Secretary and the Chief Secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department will serve as Acting Cabinet Secretary.
Livestock conservation remained a primary concern during the assembly elections and later by-elections with the Congress party making conscious efforts to rob the BJP of this problem. Shortly after coming to power, the Kamal Nath government had increased the daily allowance for keeping cows and had also announced the construction of 1,000 modern stables in the state.
In reaction to the development, the head of the state Congress, Kamal Nath, said: “The CM had made a number of announcements, including the ministry of cows, stables across the state, etc., in 2018, but now it is making another announcement. . It is a known fact that the BJP did nothing for cows in 15 years and even drastically reduced the amount spent on cow fodder. “
If the BJP government is serious about conserving cows, it should begin construction of stables throughout the state along the lines of the congressional government, Nath said in a tweet.
Madhya Pradesh has the country’s first cow sanctuary at Agar Malwa. Established in the year 2017, Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaran, the facility could house up to 6,000 cows at full capacity. However, over the years, the sanctuary at Agar Malwa and elsewhere are struggling with a shortage of resources for proper cow keeping.
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