Gau rakshaks now change names to 'Gau Vikashak' as Mamata Banerjee cracks whip

KOLKATA: With the Narendra Modi government coming down heavily on the “Gau rakshaks,” the cowvigilantes, who have recently flourished in Bengal, took a new avatar.

Following an advisory issued by the Union Home Ministry asking state governments to take strict action against the ‘selfstyled cow vigilantes’- the Gau Rakshak committee camouflaged them as ‘ Gau Vikashak’.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed her administration to take stringent action against such groups. Emboldened with MHA’s advisory, the state government has already initiated action against the Gau Rakshaks.

In West Midnapore district, police registered a complaint against a group of ‘Gaurakshak’ for fomenting ‘communal tension’. Significantly, in the last two weeks, the committee organised two Sammelan of Gau Rakshaks.

The programmes took place on July 31and August 7 in two districts, West Midnapore and East Midnapore. Reacting to the latest development, Subrata Gupta, state president of Gau-raksha committee said, “We were never rakshaks. We are vikashaks. We do not have any power to protect. We are unarmed people. We can only develop. Our group is called Gau vikash prakashtha.” He further added that the members of his group are part of an NGO that promotes cow development.

“We have heard what Prime Minister said. And, we know the content of Home Ministry’s advisory. But, we are not afraid. Cow development cell has done nothing wrong. We have not intimidated anybody.” Gupta, however, admitted that members of his group were “harassed” by the police in West Midnapore district.