In Rajasthan, Go Palan Department grants increased steadily under the Cong govt, and they were delivered better for the majority of the year.
Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, convened his first state-level cow protection convention in Jaipur in March 2019, just three months after the Congress made government in the state.
CM Gehlot emphasized at the conference, that the Congress is devoted to the preservation and protection of cows, while he was surrounded by Hindu clerics and individuals connected with gaushalas (cow shelters). A week later, the state government increased the financial aid given to cow shelters in the state over what had been provided by the prior BJP regime.
With Gehlot government on the last leg of its current tenure and assembly elections approaching, observing the spending on welfare and protection of cows in the state over the past five years demonstrates how, by carrying forward the BJP’s cow welfare policy, the Congress has got the optics around the sensitive topic right.
In reply to a question asked in the current assembly session, data was provided by the state Go Palan Department. According to the data, the Ashok Gehlot government has provided Rs 565.48 crore for the fiscal year 2020-21, Rs 624.80 crore for the fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs 805.06 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23, as grants to cow shelters throughout the state of Rajasthan.
The last government of BJP, headed by Vasundhara Raje, formed the country’s first dedicated Go Palan Ministry and levied a 10% cess on stamp duty and a 20% cess on spirits sales tax to fund cow preservation.
According to the data, the total cow welfare cess collected from stamp duty and liquor sales in 2018-19, when the BJP was in office, was Rs 536.24 crore. During the tenure of the current Congress government, this increased to Rs 717.98 crore in 2019-20, Rs 735.43 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 899.04 crore in 2021-22.