‘A cow sanctuary should be established in every state’
Godhwaj Ram Mandir Yatra reaches Lucknow from Ayodhya, expected to culminate in New Delhi on February 7
LUCKNOW:The Godhwaj Ram Mandir Yatra taken out by the Rashtriya Goraksha Sena was flagged off by UP Gau Sewa Ayog chairman Rajeev Gupta from Indira Bhavan on Friday.
The yatra had started from Ayodhya on February 1 and reached Lucknow on Thursday night. It is expected to culminate at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on February 7.
“The Godhwaj Ram Mandir Yatra is to create awareness about the protection of cows that are considered sacred in Hinduism. Besides, qualities of cow products have been proven scientifically,” said Gupta.
“Rashtriya Goraksha Sena’s demands like 24x7 clinics for cows and other animals and free cow ambulance service could be considered,” he added.
Gupta said no one should try to undermine the importance of the yatra as it’s for the protection of cows. Ashoo Mongia, national president of Rashtriya Goraksha Sena, said: “We are demanding that cows be accorded status of rashtriya mata (national mother). A cow sanctuary should be established in every state and encroachments on land meant for cow sanctuaries must be removed.” He also said that cow sacrifice during festivals should be stopped. “The government must provide subsidies for cow shelters. The place where gau bhakts were killed fighting for rights of cows in firing by the then government outside Sansad Bhavan on Novemmber 7, 1966 must be declared the place of martyrs.”
He said many governments had slapped cases against gau rakshaks and these must be taken back.
Mongia said the yatra was getting good response from the people after its start from Ayodhya, from where it went to Faizabad before reaching Lucknow.
From Lucknow, the tatra will go to Unnao, Kanpur, Auraiyya, Etawah, Ferozabad, Agra, Vrindavan, Mathura, Hathras, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Deoband, Saharanpur, Meerut City, Morad Nagar, Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad before culminating at Rashtrapati Bahavan in New Delhi, where the activists of Rashtriya Goraksha Sena will try to meet President Ram Nath Kovind. In Delhi, the yatra will pass through all the major parts of the city.