Patna, 13 Oct

Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Monday announced that he will field 'gau rakshaks' or cow vigilantees as candidates in all 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar.

Saraswati, who is the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math in Uttarakhand, announced the completion of his statewide 'Gau Mata Sankalp Yatra', which started on 13 September to "directly appeal to voters to not partake in the sin of cow slaughter".

"During the course of the yatra, I saw Bihar very closely. It is more rooted in its culture than I had expected. In all the 38 districts I travelled, people came out in support of 'gau raksha' (cow vigilantism)," he said.

Saraswati said he was forced to field such candidates as mainstream political parties are ignoring the issue.

Claiming that his candidates have already started filing nominations, he said he will reveal their names after the nomination process is over in order to "avoid any obstructions in their path".

While in some seats, the candidates will fight the elections as Independents, in the rest of the constituency, he will support the nominees of Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Rashtriya Sanatani Party, Rashtriya Swabhiman Party, Sarvodaya Party and Right to Recall Party, among others, he said.

"I am not taking part in politics. I am fulfilling my responsibility of safeguarding dharma," he said.

"Those who allow killing and eating cows are equal sinners," he added.

Shankaracharya said he himself will not fight the elections, but campaign for the 'gau rakshak' candidates and donate whatever money he is capable of to ensure their victory.

Training his guns at both the Centre and the state government, he said, "Some parties that claim themselves to be cow protectors thrive on the donations from cow slaughterers."

"Some people consider me as PM Narendra Modi's opposition, which is not true. I am Modi's well-wisher who is concerned not just about his life but also the afterlife," he said.

He claimed that the single-most reason for cow slaughter in Bihar is 'USTRA' — 'upeksha' (ignorance), 'shankarikaran' (narrow view considering cows as mere milk providers), 'taskari' (smuggling), and 'rajniti' (politics).

"While I will deal with the 'U' of USTRA by consistently raising awareness, I had to field candidates to deal with the remaining STRA," he said.