Guwahati, Sept 27: The ‘Gau Dhwaj Sthapan Bharat Yatra’ or ‘cow protection rally’ or ‘beef ban rally’ or ‘anti-beef rally’, call it any name but Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati’s quest to enter north-eastern States to promote protection of cows and stop their slaughter is seeing a stiff opposition.

On Thursday, he had to turn back from not one but two states in the region – Arunachal and Nagaland, without even getting out of the airports.

Jagadguru arrived at Arunachal Pradesh’s Donyi Polo Airport in Hollongi, located about 25 kms from state capital Itanagar, via chartered flight on Thursday morning but faced opposition from members of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU). As the number of protestors swelled, the Papum Pare district administration convinced him to leave immediately due to the sensitive nature of his visit as well as possibility of a serious law and order breakdown if he continued ahead with the proposed rally.

Speaking to reporters, AAPSU general secretary Ritum Tali said, “The Jagadguru’s team didn’t obtain NOC from the District administration but still without any directives, they landed at Hollongi airport. We condemn Jagadguru statement.”

The religious leader had planned to hold the cow protection rally, or the anti-cow slaughter rally on Friday. “We are indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh but suddenly they try to force us what to eat and what not to. On September 27, they wanted to hold a rally on Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra to create awareness on cow slaughter,” Tali said.

He further underscored that “sending back the spiritual leader may send a negative message to the nation. However, we would like to mention that we are not against any religion, institution, or individual. But this cow protection rally is against the sentiments of Arunachalis.”

He also mentioned that Itanagar DC Talo Patom in his order clearly stated that the Jagadguru’s team has not obtained No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the police department and permission from District administration for conducting Gau Dhwaj Yatra.

Similarly, after Itanagar he landed at the Dimapur Airport in Nagaland in the afternoon. However, here also, he was forced to return back without leave the premises of the airport.

Reportedly, he was angry at not being allowed to hold his cow protection rally in the state. However, local authorities informed him of the government’s decision to not allow the anti-cow slaughter rally in the state, and accordingly no permission could be granted for the rally. At the same time, there was heavy deployment of security forces in and around the airport to reportedly ensure that the Hindu monk is not allowed to leave the airport premises.

Nagaland state cabinet on September 11 decided not to grant permission to hold ‘Gau Dhwaj Yatra’ in Kohima on September 28. A similar decision was also taken by the Mizoram government.

Nagaland government highlighted concerns of public disturbance and referenced to Article 371(A) of the Constitution on the religious and social practices of the Nagas as well as the Naga customary law and procedure. The Deputy Commissioner of Kohima also officially denied permission for holding of the Gau Dhwaj Yatra in the state capital, following directions from the state government.

Meanwhile, the Jagadguru has been able to visit the State of Sikkim on September 24 and 25. Before leaving Sikkim, he had appealed to the chief ministers of the North Eastern states not to obstruct his Yatra or rally, emphasizing that he was sharing the message of Sanatan Dharma, which he said is integral to India’s democratic fabric.

He also has a planned rally in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, on October 2. However, various groups in the State have vehemently opposed this proposed rally, which directly targets their food habits.

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