The legislator also sought He also sought PM Modi's support for the demand. (File)
Incidents of mob violence will not stop till the time cow gets the status of Rashtra Mata, a BJP legislator from Telangana has said, amid the outrage over killing of a Muslim man in Rajasthan's Alwar.
T Raja Singh Lodh, the BJP MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad said in a video message on Sunday that he does not want khoon-kharaba (bloodshed) on the issue, but if it has to stop, cow must be declared the Mother of the Nation.
In the 7-minute clip, the legislator also urged lawmakers to make such a demand in Parliament.
"Till cow is not accorded the status of Rashtra Mata, I feel the war for gau raksha (cow protection) will not stop even if 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) are put into jails or bullets are fired at them," he said.
He also sought Prime Mininister Narendra Modi's support for the demand.
"Till the time a ministry of cow protection is created in every state and stringent laws are enacted for cow protection, I feel such killings will not stop....this is my feeling and I am telling the fact," Mr Singh, known for making controversial remarks, said.
Maintaining that he never supported the killing or beating up of people by "gau rakshaks", Mr Singh, however, deplored "nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence".
"Recently, a man named Rakbar alias Akbar Khan, a cow smuggler was killed. The media reported some cases of cow smuggling were pending against him," he said, claiming many cow protection activists were killed by cattle smugglers but such incidents were ignored by media.
Mr Singh also took to Twitter to claim that a Hindu man was beaten to death in Rajasthan the same day as Khan over his love affair with a Muslim girl.
"Same day When Rakbar Khan was allegedly Lynched Kheta Ram Bheel a Dalit was also Lynched in Rajasthan by the Muslim family of the girl he loved. But media and other secular parties are not interested as all the accused are from Peaceful," he wrote.
The Ghoshamahal MLA has often found himself on the wrong side of the law because of his remarks. He recently said the holy Quran was responsible for the spread of terrorism and those hosting Iftaar parties were begging for Muslim votes.