'Gau rakshaks' row: Cong believes in positive politics, says U'khand CM

In wake of the ongoing controversy surrounding 'gau rakshaks' in the country, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday said that his party believes in positive politics and is making relentless endeavors to protect the cow.

When questioned about the ongoing debate around the threat of cow vigilante groups, Rawat said that his government has come up with many initiatives to protect the holy animal.

"We believe in positive politics. We have initiated the 'Gaay and Ganga yojana', we are giving bonus on milk. We are also inspiring the people to open cowshed and are also giving land for the same," said Rawat.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that most cow vigilantes were anti-social elements.

"It makes me angry that people are running shops in the name of cow protection. Some people indulge in anti-social activities at night and in the day masquerade as cow protectors," he said while speaking at his first townhall-style address to mark the second anniversary of his government's MyGov initiative.

The Prime Minister's comments come at a time when questions are being raised on his silence amid the spate of attacks, particularly in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, on Dalits, allegedly in the name of cow protection.