Cow vigilantism rocked the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday morning, with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati slamming the government for the attack on two Muslim women in Madhya Pradesh (MP) for allegedly transporting beef. After Mayawati raised the issue, other opposition leaders also protested and crowded the Well of the House.

Mayawati questioned the government about the recent attacks on Dalits and minorities by Hindu vigilante groups in the name of cow protection. “On one side, BJP raises slogans like ‘Mahilaon ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein’ (‘For the respect of women, Bharatiya Janata Party leads the field’), and on the other side, women are being attacked in BJP-ruled states”, said the BSP chief. Following this, a group of ministers swarmed the well and raised anti-BJP slogans. Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad also supported Mayawati’s demand for an answer from the government.

Responding to Mayawati, BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the MP government had reacted quickly to the incident. Naqvi, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, went on to say that the government wants to maintain an atmosphere of trust for everyone including backward classes and minorities.

With an increase in the number of such incidents, the government needs to move beyond rhetoric to preserve its development-for-all image.