Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand on Sunday stirred fresh debate by stating that a live cow should have been taken into the new Parliament building during its inauguration. Citing the presence of a cow engraving on the Sengol sceptre held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ceremony, the seer asked, “If a statue of a cow can enter Parliament, why can’t a living cow?”

He added that a real cow’s presence would have bestowed blessings on the Prime Minister and the new Parliament. “If there is a delay, we will bring cows from all over the country into Parliament,” he said.

Call For Cow Felicitation Protocol In Maharashtra

The seer also urged the Maharashtra government to immediately draft a protocol for cow felicitation. “The state must define how cows are to be honoured and fix penalties for violations,” he asserted.

Avimukteshwaranand proposed establishing “Ramadhams”, cow shelters housing 100 cows each, in all 4,123 assembly constituencies. These shelters would focus on protection, indigenous breed promotion, and daily cow service. He said individuals caring for 100 cows should be given Rs 2 lakh per month.

The Shankaracharya supported the demand to declare the cow as Rashtramata (Mother of the Nation), hailing Hoshangabad MP Darshan Singh Chowdhary’s proposal. He urged voters to back only those candidates who work for cow protection and relevant legislation.

He criticised the government for not acting strongly enough against cow slaughter and demanded justice in the Malegaon blast case. On language issues, he defended Hindi’s administrative recognition and called for unity. “Those who do not support cow protection cannot be our brothers,” he concluded.