BJP talks about cow but can't protect it: TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh

Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh on Monday alleged that the BJP and its affiliates talk about cows, but they have been unable to provide them with enough fodder and or protect them from dying of the lumpy cow disease.

Participating in a debate on the demands for grants for the Ministry of Fishing, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, the lawmaker also thanked people of her constituency for her victory and defeating the politics of "hatred and betrayal." "I thank people of Jadavpur who sent me here and proved that politics of hatred and betrayal will not work in West Bengal," Ghosh said.

On animal husbandry, she said that 70 per cent of India's rural poor depend on livestock, but the sector hardly receives its just share. She raised concerns over rising price of cattle and poultry feed, and pointed out the nine-year high wholesale fodder inflation.

"What are the farmers going to eat and feed their families and the cattle? This forces farmers to sell their cattle, and pushes them eventually to suicide," she said.

"In the last 10 years, 1,12,000 farmers have committed suicide. In last 10 years, every day, 30 farmers have killed themselves.

"They talk about gau-raksha (protecting cows), people should know that there is a fodder crisis in India," she said, adding that the minister has admitted there is a fodder shortage in a written reply.

"It means cows are dying without food in government owned gaushalas (cowsheds), especially in the BJP-ruled states," she said.

Ghosh said 32.7 lakh cattle got infected with lumpy cow disease, and 2.4 lakh cattle heads died within months. "They say cow is their mother, but they can't protect it." Ghosh also raised concerns about rising milk prices.

"India is at the first position in milk production, but since the government has not been able to bridge the gaps, we have turned into an importer … Price of milk has gone up by 55 per cent in last ten years," she said.

She said India is at the second position in egg production, yet eggs are not being given in mid-day meals in a number of states.

"Children are malnourished yet BJP-ruled states don't give eggs in mid day meal," the lawmaker from Jadavpur Parliamentary constituency said.