Bhopal: Akhileshwaranand Giri, the chairman of the Cow Protection Board, who was recently elevated to the rank of a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government, on Wednesday appealed to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to form a cow ministry in the State.
Akhileshwaranand said that the Chief Minister would inspire future generations if cows in the state were taken care of in the same manner that "Mr Chouhan looked after cattle at his home".
A cow ministry would help create a "golden Madhya Pradesh" and would set a precedent for other states, he said.
Justifying his demand, Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri said that if Rajasthan could 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 was also in the interests of the people.
Akhileshwaranand said gaushalas or cow shelters across the state could act as nodal points for day-to-day functioning of the ministry.
According to news agency ANI, he further stated that he is "optimistic" about the formation of the cow ministry, since Mr Chouhan was now "made the chairman of the National Agriculture and MGNREGA committee.
"The state gets 15000 Cr under the scheme. I asked them how much they spend, they told me they could hardly spend half of it. So I asked them why was there this lapse, you are a part of the Cow Protection Board, provide me with a budget of 1000 Cr, I have a strong willpower for my cause, they told me I was not making any unconstitutional demand, they will back me," he added.
Swami Akhileshwaranand, who has been heading the Cow Protection Board since 2016, said the classification of cows under the Animal Husbandry department along with other animals should come to an end.
He said cows should exclusively come under the domain of the cow ministry; he said that 96,000 square kilometres of jungle area in the state was a resting spot for cows.
He also said that the forest department would have to follow through with policies implemented by the cow ministry.
Swami Akhileshwaranand was elevated to the cabinet rank a week earlier on June 11, after he allegedly expressed displeasure on being appointed to a Narmada conservation panel along with other religious leaders in April, PTI reports said.
(With Inputs Agency)