Jaunpur/Sultanpur (UP), March 7 Hindu religious leader Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said that those currently governing the nation do not view the cow as "a mother but property," and that this approach needs to be challenged.
The religious leader made these remarks in Jaunpur while visiting the hermitage of sage Yamdagni on the banks of the Gomti River.
He said a major campaign for cow protection would be launched in Lucknow on March 11, when a 40-day deadline to declare the cow as "Rajya Mata" (Queen of the Nation) and to impose a complete ban on cow slaughter ends.
He also invited Yogi Adityanath to join his March 11 movement.
Targeting the state government, the Shankaracharya said that the cow has traditionally been revered as a mother in Indian culture and the Sanatan tradition, but the present dispensation is treating it merely as property.
"In such a situation, it is necessary to challenge the rulers," he said.
He said that the land of Jaunpur has been associated with Yamdagni and Parashurama, and a tradition of cow service has long been linked to the banks of the Gomti.
He said that Yamdagni had served and protected a cow at the same place, and when a king forcibly took it away, Parashurama stood against the injustice and retrieved it.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand said that saints are duty-bound to speak the truth and oppose injustice for the protection of society and religion.
He said that he had begun his journey from Varanasi to Lucknow as part of the cow protection campaign and would reach the state capital on March 11 to formally launch the next phase of the cow movement.
Before leaving Varanasi, he visited several temples, including the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Chintamani Ganesh Temple, where he recited the Hanuman Chalisa and Bajrang Baan.
During his journey, the religious leader was also welcomed in Sultanpur district, where he interacted with local journalists after paying a visit to a Hanuman temple near Lambhua Police Station.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand said that public representatives are failing to evoke people's sentiments regarding cow protection, and that this issue must be taken up seriously in Parliament and state assemblies.
