Lucknow: The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh have slammed the Yogi Adityanath government’s proposal to levy a 2% ‘cow welfare cess’. They accused the government of "extortion" in the name of cow safety.
The move is aimed to construct shelters for the cows in all districts, gram panchayats, municipalities, municipal corporations and other local bodies. A budget of Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned to the local bodies to construct the shelters under MNREGA.
Under the proposed policy, in every district, both urban and rural areas, a cowshed of minimum 1,000 stray animals will be built and for this the excise department will levy a cess of 2%. This will be called 'cow welfare cess'.
Slamming the move, Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said that the government is resorting to “wasooli” (extortion) in the name of politics. “ The Yogi govt failed to develop any solid policies for the welfare of cows in one and a half years, then why are they suddenly levying a cess on excise of the holy animal?” he said.
Accusing the government of trying to extract “liquor money” at the behest of the holy animal, Awasthi alleged that the entire project is a sham. “This is ridiculous. If they are so concerned then why don’t they allocate funds in the annual budget instead?” he added.
Samajwadi Party Spokesperon Sunil Singh Sajan, too, said the BJP government in a corrupt move, is levying such taxes “for personal aggrandisement.” “I wonder if the funds collected will ever go for cow welfare. I can smell corruption in this move,” he said.
Drawing a parallel, Sajan alleged that just like the funds allocated for the cleansing of river Ganga were misused, this time too, the taxes will be utilised by the party leaders instead. “ I can smell corruption brewing. The BJP is using emotional issues like river Ganga and the cow, to extract money from the common man,” he said.
Last week in Uttar Pradesh, farmers unhappy over stray cows destroying their crops, had driven them away and locked them up in government buildings, especially in Iglas and Khair tehsils. Unconfirmed reports said several schools in the area were closed as farmers turned the compounds into temporary cow shelters.
UP Govt spokesperson and cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said, “The decision to levy cow welfare cess had been taken to find a solution to the problem of stray cattle in the state. A committee would be set up at block, tehsil and district levels for the implementation of the plan.”
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