UID for cows: Opposition chides Centre's "mis-focused" policy

The Centre's decision to extend Aadhaar-like unique identification (UID) to cattles to check cow smuggling has drawn the ire of the Opposition.

Blaming the government for not focusing on serious issues like malnourishment, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "Controlling cow smuggling is fine, but the priorities of the government are completely misplaced. They are not worried about children being stunted or pregnant women being under weight."

Expressing a similar view, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja said. "Centre is forced to follow the Hindutva agenda of RSS with Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. The RSS can force the government to pursue the Hindutva agenda otherwise these are major policy matters which should be discussed in parliament."

Earlier, the Centre told the Supreme Court that cows would soon have UID numbers which would have all details regarding lineage.

"The UID number should have age, breed, sex, lactation, height, body, color, horn type, tail switch and special marks details of the animal. The UID for a cow and its progeny should be made mandatory across India," the Centre said.

Emphasising on the prohibition of smuggling of animals across Bangladesh, the Centre said that active support and cooperation should be sought from the public.

"People should be asked to give information related to movements of animals on roads through toll free helpline numbers," the Centre's report added.

The recommendations come in the backdrop of various incidents of cow vigilantism being reported across the nation.