MP Minister wants a cow ministry

This Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister wants the cow portfolio. Have a ministry to take care of cows and they will, like Kamadhenu, the giving cow of Hindu lore, give the State all that it needs -- this seems to be the ‘bovine’ impulse driving Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri of Madhya Pradesh, elevated to cabinet rank in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government on June 13.

If there could be a cow secretariat in Rajasthan and a ministry for happiness in MP, then a cow ministry should be constituted for the welfare of the state, is the Swami’s reasoning.

A cow ministry would help create a "golden Madhya Pradesh" and would set a precedent for other states, said the head of the Cow Protection Board since 2016.

Taking this a step further, he also said that cows should no longer be classified under the animal husbandry department along with other animals, but instead, come under the herdsmanship of the cow ministry.

He told news agencies that he had previously spoken to Chief Minister Chouhan on the subject. "He (the chief minister) told me that he will restore all the cow-houses, and there will be no shortage of funds, there just needs to be the willpower and commitment towards the cause. Now I am even more hopeful as he has been made the chairman of national agriculture and MGNREGA committee," Akhileshwaranand told ANI.

"The state gets Rs 15,000 crore 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 Rs 1,000 crore, I have strong will power for my cause; they told me I was not making any unconstitutional demand, they will back me," he added.

Swami Akhileshwaranand was elevated to cabinet rank a week earlier on June 11.