Plastic, politics, and the cow: Congress’s 'misplaced priorities' in Gujarat

“What has gone wrong with the Congress? Why is it making such stupid demands? That’s the only reason why none trusts the party,” exclaimed someone close to me after reading a Gujarati daily report that the Congress had demanded the cow be declared India’s national animal.  

The news item revealed more than just a symbolic demand—it suggested a political one-upmanship. On March 13, 2026, Gujarat Congress president and MLA Amit Chavda introduced a private legislative bill titled The Gujarat Rajmata (Gaumata Status, Protection and Welfare) Bill, 2025. The Bill urged the state government to declare the cow as Rajmata (state mother) to ensure its protection.  

Chavda, whom I know peripherally, justified the move by saying:  

“In India, cows are assigned respectful status. Cows are considered and worshipped as ‘mata’ (mother). ‘Gaumata’ has religious and cultural importance, looking to its usefulness to mankind, agriculture and other aspects.”  

Behind this rhetoric, however, lay a grim reality. He admitted that cows live in pitiable conditions—feeding on garbage, wandering streets in search of food, and often consuming plastics that prove fatal.  

The Ground Reality

That cows roam freely in Gujarat’s cities, towns, and villages is hardly news. They eat leftovers wrapped in plastic, which has become a silent killer. Dalit leader Natubhai Parmar (photo) from Surendranagar, with whom I have interacted several times, has revealed shocking details: he once extracted up to 53 kg of plastic from a dead cow. 

In the late 2020s, Parmar led campaigns against plastic pollution, pointing out that his community—traditionally tasked with disposing of cow carcasses—was wrongly accused of cow slaughter when they were merely skinning carcasses for survival.  

Yet, neither Gujarat Congress leaders nor BJP politicians have lent support to such campaigns, which are rooted in environmental and social justice rather than religious symbolism.  

Congress’s Longstanding Cow Politics

A quick search shows that Congress has been pushing the “cow as national animal” plank since 2017:  

- June 2017: The Gujarat Congress youth wing demanded that the Modi government declare the cow the national animal. Its general secretary Prithviraj Kathwadia accused the BJP of gifting gauchar (grazing land) to industrialists instead of protecting cows.  

- October 2024: Banaskantha MP Geniben Thakor declared, “I will fully support the move to declare the cow as the mother of the nation.” During her campaign, she promised a ban on cow slaughter if Congress came to power.  

- March 2025: Amit Chavda again demanded that the BJP government recognise the cow as Rajya Mata (state mother), alleging that the government had handed over nearly 103 crore square meters of gauchar land to industrial houses.  

Symbolism vs. Substance

The Congress’s repeated demands reveal a pattern: cloaking real issues of cow welfare in religious symbolism. While leaders speak of reverence, they ignore the practical campaigns against plastic pollution and urban neglect that actually kill cows.  

The question remains: is this ideological bankruptcy or calculated politics? Either way, the Congress’s fixation on declaring the cow as national animal seems less about protection and more about posturing—while the real problems continue to fester on Gujarat’s streets.