Tathagata Satpathy

New Delhi : Restrictions on cattle trade and mob lynching have crippled the rural economy as farmers are not able to sell their cattle, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Tathagata Satpathy said on Monday.

The MP, participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on mob lynching, pointed out that most cows in the country today were not of indigenous breeds but Jersey cows.

“Most cows in India today are Jersey cows. They cannot recognise their mothers… No one is bothered about the indigenous breeds dying,” the MP said.

“Who sells cows and bullocks? It is the poor Hindu farmer. No one is denying cow is an important economic tool for rural India… When the animal grows older, Hindu farmers sell it, and the one who buys it could be a Hindu or a Muslim,” he said.

The MP said farmers were forced to keep old animals, spending money on their upkeep, as they cannot sell it any more.

“Farmers are unable to sell useless animals. The economic cycle has been put to a halt. This money could be their seed money to get another loan, but now you have totally damaged rural economy,” he said, addressing the treasury benches.

“You have actually damaged the rural economy through lynching… You have started a process where you eventually kill the Hindu farmer. By killing the minority, you are in fact killing the majority.”

Satpathy added that he had been advising farmers to leave their old cattle with Bharatiya Janata Party workers to take care of them.

—IANS