With an eye on Assembly polls due next year, the opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh on Sunday announced to launch a stir on August 28 at Bemetara where dozens of cows were starved to death at a shelter owned by state’s ruling BJP leader.
Reports say that the Congress has sensed that the cows’ death en masse has potential to discredit the BJP which is in power in the state since December 2003.
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Bhupesh Baghel told newsmen at party’s state headquarters here that Congress would stage a demonstration on August 28 in Bemetara against cows’ deaths. The party has also planned to hold a protest at Chief Minister’s official residence in Raipur on the issue.
Alleging that the incident was a ‘planned slaughter of cows’, Baghel said that the cows were starved to death with a purpose to extract their skin and flesh for commercial purposes. “All this is happening under protection of influential people and the Chief Minister and the Animal Husbandry minister should take moral responsibility over the matter and should resign,’’ the PCC chief remarked at the press conference.
He charged that the grant allotted to such shelter houses for cattle feed were misused and the cows were not given fodder. He demanded a probe into the misuse of 1.75 crore fund allocated to Shagun shelter house of the BJP leader at Bemetara.