Congress slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government over a notice appealing cow lovers to celebrate February 14 – a day celebrated across the world as Valentine’s Day – as ‘Cow Hug Day’. Reacting to the notice, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant took a swipe at BJP and asked if Union Minister Kiren Rijiju will hug cows on that day.
“Dear BJP, Will the Cow Hug Day be applicable to Goa and north eastern states? Will Kiren Rijiju hug the cows? Will there be a special celebration in Silly Souls on that day?,” Sawant asked.
His reaction came after a notice issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India, asking people to celebrate Cow Hug Day on February, went viral. It noted that the vedic traditions are almost on the verge of extinction due to progress of western culture over time.
Netizens saw the comment as a swipe on Kiren Rijiju’s 2015 controversy over comment on beef eating. Notably, Kiren Rijiju stoked controversy in 2015 after his comments on eating beef invited reactions from across the country. The Union Minister of Law and Justice had reportedly said, “I eat beef, I’m from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody’s practices.”
However he later clarified saying he was misquoted. His reaction came when he was asked about Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s comments that those who want to eat beef “can go to Pakistan.”
Cow Hug Day on Feb 14
The Animal Welfare Board of India, a statutory advisory body on animal welfare laws, has issued an unprecedented appeal to cow lovers to celebrate February 14 as Cow Hug Day, saying it “will bring emotional richness” and “increase individual and collective happiness”.
“In view of the immense benefit of the cow, hugging a cow will bring emotional richness, hence will increase our individual & collective happiness. Therefore, all the cow lovers may also celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug day’ keeping in mind the importance of mother cows and making life happy and full of positive energy,” said the board in its general appeal, issued on Monday.
Signed by AWBI secretary S K Dutta, the notice said it was issued with the approval of competent authority and on the direction of the department of animal husbandry and dairying, ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying.
