Bareilly, Sep 28 — Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi said on Monday that cow should be declared the national animal because it would solve many conflicts and that cow's milk has healing properties.
He added that cows have been an issue in our nation for a long time.
"Muslims have always demanded that cows be declared the national animal. If cows are declared national animal, many of the incidents can be controlled and it will solve a lot of problems."
"I also want to express how Islam views cows. Someone asked Paigambar in Islam, so he replied that a cow's milk has 'Shifa' (healing properties) and cow's meat has diseases. Meaning that we should drink cow's milk. If someone is weak, then they should consume cow's milk, so that they are healthy. This is Islam's stance on cows. If it is declared as the national animal, then certain incidents can be curbed. Many issues can be solved with it; many incidents that are caused can be averted, and then every individual will try to protect it," Bareilvi said.
According to reports, in a Vishva Hindu Parishad programme celebrating late Ashok Singhal's birth anniversary, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said "many copycats said that one should declare the cows as the national animal; to them I say, you are the animal; for us, a cow is our mother. We are connected to cows for more than a lifetime."
In the aftermath, Congress Spokesperson Surendra Rajput said, "The cow is our mother; there are no doubts in that. Not just in Sanatan, but in the entire country, the cow is considered a mother. The only people who think that a cow is just an animal are the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party. That's why West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that a cow older than fourteen years could be butchered. That's why Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the Northeast region said that butcher cows and eat them at home.... a Goa Minister said that because cow meat is scarce, we had to import it."
"So for the BJP, cow is an animal; they are trying to cause communal hatred. This is a medium for seeking votes. For them, Lord Ram is not for devotion, and stealing donations and committing sins. For you, Lord Ram is a tool for vote theft; for us, Lord Ram is a matter of devotion, and the cow is our mother, but not for BJP," he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that people who call 'cows' animals have animal tendencies themselves, and people who use derogatory terms against Ayodhya should be avoided.