Swami Avimukteshwarand meets political parties for anti-cow slaughter law

New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) Swami Avimukteshwarand on Monday visited several political party offices to seek their responses on his proposal to implement a cow protection law in India.
     On March 15, Jyotimath Shankaracharya urged the government to implement a law to prevent cow slaughter in the country.
     "At the end of Kumbh, we decided to give the government 33 days to respond and explain why their statistics always contradict their promises to protect cows. On March 17, I will visit the offices of all political parties to seek their response to our proposal," he had said.
     Earlier today, while heading to the CPI office, he was stopped by police near Gagoi Village in Narela.
     He later held a press conference, during which Jyotimath Shankaracharya said, "We were stopped near Gagoi Village for three hours, preventing us from reaching any party offices."
     He added, "We had been granted permission to protest at Ramleela Maidan a few days ago, but today we were informed that the permission had been cancelled citing law and order."
     Shankaracharya said the CPI members informed him that they had not received his letter earlier due to an error with the e-mail ID which is why they did not respond to him, but it has now been received.
     "They told me that the letter would be forwarded to CPI President D Raja, and after a collective discussion with other party members, they will provide me with a response," he said.
     At the Aam Aadmi Party office, he met Gopal Rai, who told him that the party would discuss the issue and inform him of its decision.
     At the BJP office, he spoke to a party worker who said they would forward his message to the party leaders. He received similar responses at the Congress and Samajwadi Party offices, he said.
     "This shows that no party is supporting us in our efforts to stop cow slaughter and implement a cow protection law," he said.
     Following these meetings, Shankaracharya released a list of measures to fulfil the aim: identification of cows, securing a pledge from at least 33 crore voters for cow protection, and the construction and operation of 3 lakh Ram Dhams (cow shelters).
     Swami Avimukteshwarand said a Gau Rakshak Sena would be formed to target slaughterhouses that sell cow meat and will be deployed at state borders to prevent the entry of cows.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)