DyCM dismisses seer’s cow slaughter claims, cites govt strict stance

Varanasi: Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday dismissed cow slaughter allegations by Swami Avimukteshwaranand, saying no such incidents occur in UP, given the govt's strict stance against those involved.During a brief interaction with reporters here, Maurya said: "No one can even touch ‘Gau Mata' (mother cow) in the state as the govt never spares the accused."He mentioned how, as a devotee of the cow, he himself carried out several agitations against ‘Gau Mata' smugglers.Regarding the seer's proposed Lucknow meeting on March 11, he said anyone is free to go anywhere in the state. Maurya's remarks came a day after Avimukteshwaranand announced his plan to launch ‘Go Pratishtha Dharmayuddh', a non-violent and ideological movement for cow protection, from Kanshiram Smriti Sanskritik Sthal in Lucknow on Mar 11. He will proceed from Varanasi on Mar 7. About Avimukteshwaranand's demand to declare the cow as ‘rajya mata', Maurya said that when the cow is already respected as a mother, there is no need for this demand. Avimukteshwaranand had recently dared chief minister Yogi Adityanath to prove himself a Hindu by giving the cow the status of ‘rajya mata' (state mother) and banning beef export within 40 days.