NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday set the record straight by terming the cow vigilantes who unleash violence in the name of cow protection as anti-socials. In the much-awaited response, he also made it clear that nobody had the right to harass others in the name of cow protection.
Modi made the sharp denouncement during his Obama-style townhall address to mark the second anniversary of his government’s MyGov initiative. Stating that more cows die after consuming plastic and real gow raksha would be to save the animals from that threat, Modi said that a large number of these vigilantes “do illegal activities in the night and become cow protectors in the day”.
“They are running shops in the name of cow protection and it makes me angry,” he said, asking state governments to prepare “dossiers” on the matter. Modi’s comments come at a time when his government and the BJP are facing flak over the growing instances of violence against Dalits and Muslims in states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. “I will ask state governments to prepare a dossier on such people as 80 per cent of them would be found to be involved in anti-social activities which no society would approve of,” he said.
Answering questions over good governance, the economy and the health sector, Modi said that last mile delivery was as important as policies. “The benefits must reach the intended beneficiaries,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister devoted a good part of his speech to explain his plans for rural India. Underlining that villages were a priority for his government, Modi said that the rural economy was set for a change under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana’.
“A farmer’s son becomes a farmer out of helplessness and not by choice,’’ he said, adding that his government would ensure that all amenities available in cities would soon be available in villages with the implementation of the “rurban” mission.
PMO on your phone
A new app, that will allow smartphone users to connect with PMO website was launched
App aims to provide access for every citizen to the Prime Minister’s Office
The government had launched a two-phased contest in March 2015 on the MyGov platform for development of the application
A team of six engineering students from Delhi won the contest
The mobile application will correspond to the PMO website
The app will also sell merchandise, the proceeds of which will go to the ‘Clean Ganga’ programme