Opposition members protest in the well of Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI Photo/ TV GRAB) Opposition members protest in the well of Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI Photo/ TV GRAB)

Cows are the only animal that inhale as well as exhale oxygen; ghee made of cow’s milk contains 47 per cent oxygen; and “gaumutra (cow’s urine)” in sugarcane field will ensure longer, thicker and sweeter sugarcane and yield more sugar, BJP MPs said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The remarks were made during a discussion on a private-member resolution moved, and subsequently withdrawn, by DMK’s T Siva, seeking steps for protection of indigenous cattle breed. B K Hariprasad of the Congress, who supported the resolution, said there should not be any discrimination against buffaloes or bulls. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government could keep in mind the suggestions offered by Siva.

In the resolution, Siva sought amendment in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to exempt bulls from application of provisions that restrict their utility and training for various purposes. Siva also batted for saving diesel by “replacing tractors with cattle for…ploughing and transportation”. Nine of 10 MPs who spoke on the issue supported Siva’s resolution. Jairam Ramesh opposed it, saying the resolution was aimed at Jallikattu more than protecting the indigenous breed of cattle and promoting organic manure, as was made out by the DMK member.

Basavaraj Patil, BJP MP from Karnataka, said, “Ghee made of cow’s milk has up to 47 per cent oxygen. Cow is the only animal which takes oxygen and gives back oxygen.” He claimed that if a cow carcass is buried, its “chemical action” is worth fertilizer amounting to Rs 8,000. La Ganesan of the BJP said he was happy to see a DMK member bringing a resolution that should have been brought by a BJP member, and that he “wholeheartedly” supported it.

Meghraj Jain of BJP claimed that scientists researching on wheat at an institute in Karnal, Haryana, have said that cattle urine mixed with water for irrigation will increase productivity. “If cow urine is used in sugarcane farms, the sugarcane will be longer, thicker and sweeter, and will yield more sugar,” he said. Jain also claimed that an experiment done at Mumbai’s Tata Cancer Hospital had found that haemoglobin level of patients using cow urine does not fall even after chemotherapy.

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