New Delhi: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while speaking at Town-Hall programme in Delhi asked state governments to prepare “dossiers” on the so-called cow protectors as 80 per cent of them do illegal activities at night and become cow protectors in the day to showcase self as good person, asserting that running such help groups does not mean they should harass others.

“It makes me angry that people are running shops in the name of cow protection. Most of them are anti-social elements hiding behind the mask of cow protection.

“I will ask state governments to prepare a dossier on such people as 80 per cent of them will be found to be involved in anti-social activities which no society will approve of,” he said.

Noting that more cows die from consuming plastic than are slaughtered, he said those who want to serve the animal should rather work towards stopping cows from eating plastic as that will be a bigger service.

Recalling his own work in the service of cow, he said at one health camp organised by him for the animal, at least two buckets full of plastic were removed from the stomach of one of them.

Govt note on this:

– PM expresses anger at self-styled gau-rakshaks (cow protectors); urges action against criminals masquerading as cow protectors
– PM’s unique townhall interaction to mark two years of the launch of MyGov

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today expressed anger at self-styled “gau-rakshaks” (cow-protectors) who “run shops in the name of cow protection,” and urged action against criminals who masquerade as protectors of the cow. In a unique “townhall” interaction that marked two years of MyGov, – the Government’s web platform for participatory governance – the Prime Minister asked State Governments to prepare a dossier of such people. Mentioning how cows were dying due to plastic consumption, he urged all those who were genuinely concerned about the welfare of cows to devote their efforts to ensuring that cows do not consume plastic.

The Prime Minister answered a range of questions on various subjects such as good governance, foreign policy, and participatory democracy.

He said that the spirit of democracy is incomplete if one thinks the citizen’s role stops at voting. Participative democracy is essential, he emphasized. He said ‘last mile delivery’ is as important as policies, and the benefits must reach the intended beneficiaries. He said good governance means those processes that are redundant do not exist. Grievance redressal systems are the biggest strengths of a democracy, he added.

Shri Narendra Modi said if there is one sector that can power the economy, it is agriculture. Mentioning the Rurban Mission, the Prime Minister said that his vision was to provide modern amenities to the rural areas, while retaining the soul of villages.

On the subject of handloom, the Prime Minister described “Khadi for Nation, Khadi for Fashion” as one of the principles that could serve as a guide for the people.

The Prime Minister described “India First” as the central theme of his foreign policy. He said the Indian diaspora has played a key role in connecting India with other nations.

The Prime Minister also touched upon the subjects of healthcare and tourism in the course of his interaction, which lasted for about 100 minutes.

Earlier, the Prime Minister interacted briefly on stage with contributors to the Mann Ki Baat Radio Programme, and the MyGov platform.

The Prime Minister launched a new PMO App, and also met the young contributors who had helped develop this App.

PTI