NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday raised concerns over the "horrific" conditions of cows in Uttar Pradesh and asked chief minister Yogi Adityanath to take a cue from her party-led government in Chhattisgarh on their protection.
In a two-page letter to the chief minister, she cited pictures of dead cows at Saujna in Lalitpur district of the state and said they were "heart-wrenching and disturbing".
Raising the issue of cow deaths in cow shelters, the Congress leader said such cases have come up despite the fact that a model to resolve the issue exists.
Attacking the chief minister, she said, even though he came to power claiming to protect the cows, his government has "completely failed", and asked who should be held responsible for their deaths.
"Before coming to power, you had talked of 'Gau-Vansh raksha' (cow protection) and setting up of 'Gaushalas'. The truth is that your government has completely failed in this regard despite announcements by your government.
"Cows are being mal-treated in the name of 'Gau-vansh'. Cow shelters have been opened but the truth is that cows are not given water and fodder and there is complete insensitivity towards them. The entire system is gripped in corruption,"she said, wondering how many cows are dying across the state.
"Even before this, such pictures have been found from different parts of the state," she pointed out.
The AICC general secretary asked the chief minister to take a cue from the Congress government in Chhattisgarh on cow protection.
"Chhattisgarh has solved the matter very well by implementing the 'Godan Nyay Yojana'," she said.
"Perhaps the UP government can take inspiration from the Chhattisgarh government and all of us can maintain our service towards the cow.
We can save the cows from being forced to live and die in such horrific conditions and can also help our farmers," she said.
She also pointed out that the photos of dead cows in Lalitpur show that the deaths occurred due to lack of fodder and water and they died out of hunger.
The Congress leader said it was her duty to write to him and bring it to his notice the atrocities being committed on cows, as it was her moral and religious duty as well.