(Representative image) | Photo Credit: Indiatimes, Representative Image

New Delhi: A 19-member panel has been set up by the government which will carry out scientifically validated research on cow derivatives like urine and their benefits. Three members of the panel are linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Headed by Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan, the committee will select projects that can help scientifically validate the benefits of panchgavya - the concoction of cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd, and ghee - in various spheres such as nutrition, health, and agriculture, says the circular accessed by PTI.

The panel is being called the National Steering Committee and will include secretaries of the departments of Science and Technology, Biotechnology, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.

The incident comes at a time when the cow is increasingly being seen as a religious symbol and self-proclaimed gau rakshaks have taken law and order in their own hands. They justify the murders and violence by stating that the cow is akin to their mother and have a right to 'protect it'.

Read: Cow may be like your mother but nobody can take law in their hands: PM Modi

Prime Minister stated at an all-party meet on Sunday that while many believe that a cow is akin to their mother, that does not mean that people can take law and order into their own hands.

"All (state) governments should take stringent action against those who are violating the law in the name of cow protection," Modi said at the meeting a day before the Monsoon Session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Opposition parties have attacked the BJP over the cases of cow vigilantism, in which Muslims and Dalits have often been targeted. These parties have also planned to raise the issue during the Parliament session starting tomorrow, reports PTI.

"We believe cow is the foundation of our civilisation," Sunil Mansinghka of the Nagpur-based Go Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra's website says.

Mansinghka, whose organisation is affiliated to the VHP is part of the panel and so is Vijay Bhatkar, the president of Delhi-based Vigyan

Bharti, an RSS-affiliated science body. Bhatkar is also the Chancellor of the Nalanda University in Rajgir, Bihar.

(With inputs from PTI)

Read: BJP leader thrashed by cow vigilantes for allegedly carrying beef