Assam: Congress workers protest sale of cows, wave black flags at CM

Opposition Congress workers on Monday waved black flags at Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's convoy in Golaghat district as they were protesting the alleged sale of 90 Gir cows, which were procured by the government, to individuals including a minister's wife. Four people were detained in connection with this incident, the police said.

The Congress party had launched protests in all district headquarters against the alleged sale of the cows procured during the 2022-23 financial year by the state government for its Garukhuti Agricultural Project.

Public health engineering department minister Jayanta Malla Baruah recently claimed that 90 of these cows were sold off to private individuals as there was ''inadequate infrastructure'' to house them. Subsequently, a list was released which showed that the minister's wife had allegedly bought 20 of these cows.

Besides protests, the Congress also filed complaints in various police stations seeking action against the minister for alleged ''misappropriation of public property, cheating and corruption'' in connection with the procurement of cows for the project.

The chief minister, who was on a day-long visit to Golaghat, later told reporters: ''The Congress will have to protest. How will they survive otherwise? I really appreciate that they came out in this heat to protest. They too have to answer to their leaders,'' he added.

Referring to the sale of cows, Sarma said that it is surprising that a party that supports 'qurbani' during Eid is now protesting against cows who were saved and given shelter. ''It is the BJP's 'dharma' to protect cows and that is what some of them have done. The Congress has no moral right to protest against this,'' he said.

Jorhat District Krishak Congress today staged a strong protest demanding the resignation of corrupt BJP ministers and their kin involved in the Gir cow scam, and called for strict punishment for the guilty. pic.twitter.com/lGmIslyNUR

— Assam Congress (@INCAssam) June 30, 2025

Gaurav Gogoi has a battle ahead in polarised Assam

The cows are alive and are being taken care of and ''those who kill and eat cows are now talking about protecting them'', he said.

''If they are so concerned about the protection of cows, then why do they come forward and announce that a law should be enacted to stop qurbani during Eid'', Sarma asserted. He claimed that 1,400 cows were killed in Dhubri alone during Eid this year and several skulls were thrown at temples.

Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur asked reporters why the Gir cows, brought from Gujarat for the agricultural and livestock project in Garukhuti, were sold exclusively to BJP leaders and not to genuine cattle rearers and dairy farmers across the state.

“The Gir cows were brought to Assam claiming to support rural farmers. Yet, they were sold off to people who had no connection to cattle rearing. Why were they not given to those who actually depend on dairy farming?” Borthakur asked.

She also questioned why the cows were brought to the state when adequate infrastructure for their shelter and upkeep was not arranged. The Congress leader asked, “Why were the cows brought at all if the state wasn’t prepared to house them?”

The Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal have also demanded an inquiry into the alleged sale of government-procured cows to individuals close to ministers and other elected representatives.

The Garukhuti Agricultural Project was set up after a massive eviction drive was carried out to remove alleged encroachments, belonging mostly to Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants, in which two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed.