BJP demands Centre's intervention to stop rhino poaching

BJP president Rajnath Singh today demanded that the Centre intervene to stop the continuing rhino poaching in Kaziranga National Park in Assam where 31 of the animals have been killed so far this year.
Singh said that as the state government has "failed" to control the rampant poaching in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Centre should immediately intervene to halt the menace.
"If the state government does not act, the Centre must intervene immediately," Singh told reporters here.
"Assam is known worldwide for the one-horned rhino and its tea. The rhinos are being poached in Kaziranga and the state government is a mute spectator to it," he said.

Singh demanded that the state government investigate to find out those involved in the poaching rackets, punish them under stringent laws so that no one dares to indulge in illegal animal hunting and killing in the future.
Rhino horns are highly valued in the international black market fetching lakhs of rupees for their so-called medicinal values and for being a status symbol for a section of people in south east Asian countries.