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Lucknow: Amid calls from several Muslim organisations across India to declare the cow as the national animal and put a blanket ban on cow slaughter, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Monday, June 1, argued that such a declaration was unnecessary, claiming the animal’s place is equivalent to “mother” in Indian culture.

“Gauomata hamari rashtramata hai. Kya maa aur putra ke beech mein ghoshit karne ki avashaktha hai kya? Kya kisi putr ko batane ki avshaktha padhi hai ki tumhari maa hai, tho iska samman karo? (The cow is our mother and the mother of the nation. Does the bond between a mother and her child require official recognition? Has any child ever needed to be told that a woman is his mother and therefore deserves respect?)” he asked.

“Yeh hamare sanskaar hai. Gau tho hamari maata hai, woh pahu nahi, hamari maa hai (These are our values and traditions. The cow is our mother; she is not merely an animal, she is our mother.),” he said at a public gathering in Bijnor.

During Bakrid this year, several prominent Muslim organisations like Ajmer Dargah Sharif, Kolkata’s Nakhoda Masjid, and Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah urged the community to refrain from cow sacrifice. The statements came following rising threats from multiple Hindutva organisations that vowed to prevent the practice.

Yogi called their demands for national status exposes their “devilish mindset” and “hypocrisy.”

A day earlier, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said there is currently no proposal under the Centre’s consideration to declare the cow the national animal or impose a nationwide ban on cow slaughter. He said local organisations continue to make such demands.

“It is an issue that people keep bringing up. Efforts are being made by those advocating it, and discussions keep happening. But at present, it is not at a stage where a decision-making process has begun at the government level,” he said.