Mere lip service: Owaisi on PM's statement on cow vigilantism

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi today termed as "mere lip service" the prime minister's statement against violence in the name of cow protection and said the BJP and Sangh-affiliated outfits have put a lower premium on human life.
The Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad said this is the second time Narendra Modi has spoken on the issue but it did not have any effect at all on Gaurakshaks (cow vigilantes), nor did it bring down the incidents of killing or lynching.
"So, this is merely lip service and there is many a slip between the cup and the lip ... The majority of incidents have taken place in BJP-ruled states. How is it that the BJP-ruled states are not able to stop it?" he asked.

Owaisi said such incidents would continue because the BJP and Sangh-affiliated organisations have put a lower premium on human life as compared to that of an animal.
"This will continue to happen because there is a lesser premium on human life, especially if the human being is a Muslim or a Dalit," he alleged.
International media has carried adverse reports and the prime minister is only paying lip service, Owaisi said.

"As long as there is a lower price on human life, these incidents will continue to happen because Gaurakshaks are getting direct, indirect support from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar ... They are getting emboldened," he alleged.

The killers of Pehlu Khan in BJP-ruled Rajasthan were yet to be arrested. "Walk the Talk, Mr PM," the AIMIM chief posted on Twitter.
Khan was killed allegedly by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district while he was transporting cows for his dairy farm earlier this year.
The prime minister in Ahmedabad today said killing of people in the name of cow protection is not acceptable and asserted that no one has the right to take law into his hands.
"Killing people in the name of gau bhakti is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would have approved," he said.