PM: Killing in name of cow protection not acceptable

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Sabarmati Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi's home for more than 10 years, to send a tough message against lynchings in the name of cow protection.

Invoking Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave at a public meeting to mark the centenary of the ashram on Thursday, the PM said, "No one has the right to take the law into his hands or kill anyone in the name of cow protection. That is not India's tradition. This is not gau raksha or gau bhakti."

Recalling the instances of lynching by gau rakshaks (cow protectors), Modi said they caused him pain and displeasure. "One should learn cow protection from the philosophies and ideals of great visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave. No one has practised cow protection and worship like Gandhi and Bhave. They showed us how to protect the cow. The country will have to adopt their way, the non-violent way," Modi urged.

"When I met Bhave once, he told me 'one should die, not kill, for cow protection'. Let us all make a resolution to transform India by 2022," the PM added.

"If a patient dies due to an unsuccessful operation, relatives burn down hospitals and beat up doctors. When people die or are injured in the accidents, a group of people come together and burn vehicles," he said, pointing out the prevalent trend among people of taking law into their hands.

The PM said, "The Indian Constitution also teaches us about cow protection. But does this (cow protection) give us any right to kill a person? Is this gau bhakti (cow worship)? Is this cow protection?"