Lucknow  :

Amid the beef row and BJP’s allegations that Mohammad Azam Khan was spreading communal hatred, an upcoming gau shala (cow shelter) of Puri Shankaracharya Swami Adhokshjanand at Radha Rani kund in Mathura has got enormous help from the senior UP minister.

Azam Khan was also the chief guest at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the gau shala on April 5. Talking to TOI, Puri Shankaracharya termed Khan as an honest and noble person. He said Khan had asked his wife and Rajya Sabha MP Tazeen Fatima to give Rs 25 lakh for the construction of the gau shala from her MPLAD fund and the same had been done by SP’s Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary Munawwar Saleem.

The revelation comes days after te Shankaracharya gifted a cow to Azam. The Shankaracharya said that by this gesture Azam Khan had once again showed what Indian culture is all about. He added that while a good Muslim like Azam Khan had been caring for cows, there were instances where Hindus had not shown the respect the holy cow deserves.

Confirming giving Rs 25 lakh from the MPLAD fund, Chaudhary Munawwar Saleem told TOI that the main aim was to prove that the picture of communal tension being presented in the name of beef was not the correct one. “Gai aur Ganga itihaas mein bhi mahatpoorna hain aur siddhanth bhi hain (Both cow and the river Ganges are relevant in history as well as in principles of social life),” Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary pointed out that in the first cabinet meeting after the Akhilesh Yadav government was formed, Azam insisted on passing a resolution on banning slaughter houses and sending the same to the Centre. In the past three years, he had ensured that a slaughter house in Meerut was shut down. Chaudhary said Fatima had also given Rs 25 lakh from her MPLAD fund for the gau shala.

In the initial phase, the gau shala will house around 5,000 cows, the Shankaracharya said and added that of these, half would be of various varieties, which would help in increasing the number of good quality cows.

Hitting out at the saffron pariwar, the Shankaracharya said that after their government was formed, the BJP had forgotten “gai aur Gita”, but people like Azam Khan continue to show the affection for the cow.

To a question on his liking for Azam, the Shankaracharya said: “The seers and saints don’t rely on books and newspapers to make their opinion. We search for a human being among the people solely through spiritualism and Khan is one such human being who speaks truth which is bitter that leaves him at the receiving end.”

Azam Khan did not reply to several phone calls and SMSes from TOI.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Rajiv Srivastava, TNN / November 20th, 2015