Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who vowed to sweep away ‘bull and bulldozer’ from the state in the upcoming assembly election, has promised to pay an ex-gratia payment of Rs five lakh to the family of those killed by stay bulls.
“If a person dies in a bull-fighting accident, Rs five Lakh compensation will be given by the SP government,” Akhilesh Yadav has said.
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) December 28, 2021
Akhilesh Yadav made the announcement of ex-gratia payment in Unnao on Tuesday (December 28) during his Vijay Rath Yatra when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy inaugurating the Kanpur Metro Rail Project.
But records of Akhilesh Yadav and Yogi Adityanath suggest that the former did nothing to control stray animal menace in Uttar Pradesh while Yogi systematically addressed this issue with long term plans.
The party has also officially announced this poll promise on the official Twitter handle of the party with an attractive portrait of Akhilesh Yadav.
Samajwadi Party chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said that the announcement was made based on feedbacks from common people about the problem they face which they want Akhilesh Yadav to solve when he comes to the power in 2022.
This may be an important announcement but it has triggered funny reactions of many people giving comic relief when the battle for power has intensified.
Some netizens mischievously tagged Aam Aadmi Party MP and UP in-charge Sanjay Singh. BJP’s Dr. Richa Rajpoot asked whether the SP government will give Rs five Lakh compensation to jilted lovers.
उत्तर प्रदेश में सभी लोग न जाने क्यूं संजय सिंह को ढूंढ रहे हैं।
— Rais Pathan (@PathanRaisKhan) December 28, 2021
सांड👇 pic.twitter.com/WEpIP9tyUh
— $K🥏 (@SK011790) December 28, 2021
उत्तर प्रदेश में सभी लोग न जाने क्यूं संजय सिंह को ढूंढ रहे हैं।
— Rais Pathan (@PathanRaisKhan) December 28, 2021
“Amazing. Since childhood, I always wished to fight with the bull because apart from this, what else is there to do in life! But I was afraid of who would look after my family if I die. With this announcement, Akhilesh Bhaiya has cleared my dilemma. As soon as the SP government comes to power, my fight with the bull is sure,” a user Skin Doctor said. He further asked whether this scheme will be named as ‘Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia socialist bull fight scheme?
अद्भुत। मेरी बचपन से ही प्रबल इच्छा थी कि सांड से लड़ूं क्योंकि इसके अलावा जीवन में और करने को है भी क्या! किंतु डरता था कि कहीं कुछ मृत्यु हुई तो मेरे बाद परिवार का क्या होगा। इस घोषणा से अखिलेश भैय्या ने मेरी दुविधा दूर कर दी है। सपा सरकार आते ही मेरी सांड से भिड़ंत निश्चित है।
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) December 28, 2021
People asked Akhilesh Yadav to focus on the real issues rather than seeking votes on the name of bulls.
UP government controlled bulls as well as bullies
In October during the election campaign in Kanpur Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said that after state elections both the ‘Baba Chief Minister’ and his ‘bull and bulldozer’ would be swept away. The ‘bull and bulldozer’ remark referred to stray cattle seized by the government and the demolition of unauthorised properties.
Uttar Pradesh is not the only state in the country facing problems due to stray animals. But the government has been tackling the problem by catching and putting such animals at the shelters.
In the last five years, over 1.03 lakh stray cows were adopted by 56,853 people in Uttar Pradesh under the scheme of the government. The government has made functional all 5,384 ‘Gau Sanrakshan Kendras’ (Cow Protection Centres) in which 650052 cow progeny were kept. To ensure food for the Yogi government has established 3,548 hay banks for them.
His government also introduced a scheme, ‘Mukhyamantri Nirashrit Besahara Govansh Sahbhagita Yojana’, for interested farmers and livestock rearers to adopt and nurture destitute cattle. Such persons are provided with Rs 900 per month for the upbringing of the animal. About 20,000 cows have been given to families with malnourished children under the state’s Poshan Mission.
Yogi Adityanath also instructed district collectors to ensure destitute cattle are taken at cow shelters and be taken care of during winter.
The Yogi government has also planned is rehabilitate about 400,000 stray cattle in the state over the next two months even if the majority are antelopes and other wild animals causing damage to crops. As per the 2019 livestock census, there are nearly 1.16 million stray cattle in the state.
