Mulayam raises issue of cow slaughter in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today raised in the Lok Sabha concern over cow slaughter and the declining number of the bovine, an issue dear to the saffron outfits.

During the Question Hour, Yadav said he wanted to raise an "important question relating to declining number of cows".

"It is an important matter...people steal cows, cut them and sell it in the US...the number is falling," said Yadav, who claimed that he has been rearing 1,600 cows.

However, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, sitting next to Yadav, reminded him that the question relating to livestock was over.

The first question the Lok Sabha took during Question Hour was related to insurance for livestock. The second one related to shortage of pulses.

Soon after Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan ended his reply, Yadav raised the issue but did not evoke any interest.

The issue of cow slaughter has been in focus since saffron outfits have been demanding a blanket ban. There have been incidents in some places where cattle traders have been attacked.