Haridwar (Uttarakhand) [India], November 12 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday accused the opposition of opposing cow protection and Gau Seva, alleging that the same parties had earlier questioned the existence of Lord Shri Ram and created obstacles in the construction of the Ram Mandir.

Dhami was participating in the inauguration ceremony of Kamdhenu Lok at Kamdhenu Lok Bhawan in Haridwar.

He said the opposition described Gau Seva as a symbol of a regressive mindset, while asserting that his government considered cow protection central to faith as well as the rural economy.

“The opposition claims that Gau Seva is a symbol of our regressive mindset. These people neither like Gau Mata nor those who are devoted to her. These are the same people who, for years, committed the sin of denying the very existence of Lord Shri Ram,” he said.

Referring to the construction of the Ram Mandir, the Chief Minister alleged that opposition parties had attempted to obstruct the process through legal interventions.

“And when the process for the construction of the Ram Mandir began, they deployed an army of high-profile lawyers in the Supreme Court and created obstacles at every single step,” Dhami said.

He said the state government was working towards strengthening cow protection infrastructure and improving facilities for the care and feeding of cattle.

“However, our government firmly believes that Gau Mata is not only central to our faith but also the foundation of our rural economy,” he said.

“Keeping this in mind, our government has focused on the modernisation of Gaushalas in the state, as well as on the daily provisions for care and feeding, such as fodder for Gau Mata,” Dhami added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dhami said that he would respond to Sonia Gandhi’s memoir after reading it, while alleging that the Congress’ ideology had always been centred around appeasement and vote-bank politics.

“I have not even seen the book yet; I have only heard about it. I will go through it and understand its contents first, and then I will respond. The entire country knows that the ideology she embraced has always been centred around appeasement. The Congress ruled the country for 60 years, and all it did was work for vote-bank politics,” Dhami told reporters.

He alleged that the Congress governments had neglected national security and failed to boost the morale of soldiers guarding the country’s borders.

“It (Congress) did not work towards the country’s security or make efforts to boost the morale of our soldiers guarding the nation’s borders. During the Congress governments and the governments supported by it, soldiers faced attacks from across the border by terrorists, separatists and jihadi elements. Yet, there were no orders to even retaliate with gunfire. After Modi ji came to power, the country’s borders became more secure,” he added. (ANI)