Lucknow, March 11 Seer Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati announced on Wednesday an 81-day statewide campaign, starting May 3, to advocate for granting the cow the status of "rashtra mata" (national mother) and for a nationwide ban on cow slaughter.
Addressing a gathering in the capital, the seer said the campaign, described as a 'Kavishti Yatra', a Vedic term referring to a struggle undertaken for the protection of cows, would start from Gorakhpur on May 3 and conclude there on July 23 after travelling through villages across the state.
"The yatra will be a parikrama. It will begin in Gorakhpur and end there as well," he said, adding that participants would spread awareness among people about cow protection and what he termed the "real situation on the ground".
He said the gathering in Lucknow marked the beginning of a "dharma yudh" (religious struggle) for cow protection.
The programme, titled 'Gau Pratishtha Dhwaj Sthapana, Dharm Yudh Shankhnaad Sabha', was held with permission from local authorities subject to 26 conditions, several of which the seer had earlier described as "impractical".
During his address, Avimukteshwaranand asked attendees about their political affiliations, saying media reports suggested that supporters of opposition parties such as the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were backing his campaign.
"But when we asked people here, most of them said they support the BJP. This shows how quickly support is shifting and how fast people are moving away," he said, before adding that the gathering was not meant for political discussion.
The seer urged participants to leave their names and phone numbers behind before departing, saying that those present would be counted among the "founding members" of the campaign.
Referring to cow protection efforts, he said the Uttar Pradesh government had recently allocated its "largest budget" for cow welfare in the state after nine years, which he claimed had come under pressure from the ongoing campaign.
"Big tasks require collective efforts, and everyone who contributes becomes part of that effort," he said.
Avimukteshwaranand said the proposed yatra would travel across villages to present what he called documented facts about cow slaughter and cow protection.
The seer also announced that after the conclusion of the yatra on July 23, a large gathering would be held in Kanshiram Smriti Upvan on July 24.
Asked about the relatively thin attendance at the Lucknow event, where several chairs remained vacant, he responded with a rhetorical question to reporters.
"Where do you see bigger crowds today -- at milk shops or liquor shops?" he asked. When reporters replied that liquor shops see larger crowds, he said, "The same situation is here. Here we are distributing pure milk."
The programme was attended by several sadhus, religious leaders and supporters of cow protection. Among those present was Alankar Agnihotri, a former sub-divisional magistrate in Bareilly who recently resigned from service after alleging misconduct during an earlier religious event involving the seer.