Cow protection needs to be adopted for bringing about a change in the country, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said at the launch of "Muslim Gau Raksha Sangh" in Delhi on Wednesday.
The social justice and empowerment minister termed formation of the outfit as a "revolutionary step" that will bring Hindus and Muslims closer.
"If you want a change in the country, cow protection needs to be adopted. Awareness against cow slaughter needs to be created as it is banned by the law," he said.
Mr Athawale also praised the founders of Muslim Gau Raksha Sangh, saying it was a significant step that people from the minority community themselves have come forward to create awareness against cow slaughter.
He also said that incidents of lynching in the name of cow have also happened in the past when the BJP was not in power. "It's not that incidents of lynching in the name of cow are occurring in BJP rule. Such things happened in the past also when BJP was not in power. It cannot be accepted as there are other ways like seeking police help to stop cow slaughter," he said.
Founder president of the Muslim Gau Raksha Sangh, Irfan Sheikh, said the idea to form the organisation was seeded by Mr Athawale himself who had viewed that Muslims should also come forward to protect the cow, revered by the Hindus.
"Our main agenda is to educate children in the Muslim community for protection of the cow. We will hold workshops and lectures at schools for the purpose," said the journalist-cum-activist.
Mr Sheikh said the Sangh will also institute "Gau Ratna Awards" to acknowledge contribution of people in the field of cow protection