Politician calls for creation of cow ministry
STATE MINISTER SAYS MOVE WILL HELP CREATE A ‘GOLDEN MADHYA PRADESH’
Days after he was elevated to the rank of a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government, Swami Akhileshwaranand yesterday asked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to create a cow ministry “for the benefit of the state”.
Formerly state Cow Protection Board chairperson, Akhileshwaranand said a cow ministry would help create a “golden Madhya Pradesh”.
“I request chief minister to create a cow ministry. In fact, I had a brief discussion with him on this earlier. CM Chouhan told me that he will restore all the cow shelters, and there will be no shortage of funds,” Akhileshwaranand told media.
“There needs to be willpower and commitment towards the cause of cow welfare. At present, I am even more hopeful that a cow ministry will be created as the CM is made the chairman of National Agriculture and [the] Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) committee.”
The state government elevated Akhileshwaranand to the rank of cabinet minister on June 13.
Earlier in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state had accorded Minister of State (MoS) status to five Hindu religious leaders.
As per the order of General Administration Department, Minister of State status was accorded to Narmadanand Maharaj, Hariharanand Maharaj, Computer Baba, Bhayyu Maharaj (now dead) and Pandit Yogendra Mahant.
Akhileshwaranand yesterday said setting up a cow ministry in Madhya Pradesh would set a precedent for other states.
Prior to his new appointment, Akhileshwaranand had headed the Cow Protection Board since 2016.