AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday termed as mere lip service Prime Minister Narendra Modi's condemnation of killing people in the name of cow protection.
Reacting to Modi's remarks in Ahmedabad, the Hyderabad MP told reporters that cow vigilantes were getting help from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.
"It is mere lip service. Attacks have only increased," Owaisi said, referring to incidents of lynching in different parts of the country.
He said it was strange that right to life was being bestowed on an animal but human beings were being lynched.
Earlier, in a series of tweets, Owaisi said the Prime Minister's statements were not having the desired effect on ground.
"Two time PM has spoken but didn't have desired affect (because) Gau Rakshak get direct indirect support of BJP/Sangh. Nothing will change on ground," he tweeted.
"PM says killing unacceptable but 3 alleged killers of Pahlu khan yet to be arrested & BJP is in power in Rajasthan. Walk the Talk Mr PM," he added.
"If you can sentence to death a person who kills a cow, can't you sentence to death a person who resorts to lynching," Owaisi asked.
He said responsibility to ensure rule of law lies with the government.
The Lok Sabha member announced that he will introduce a private member bill during monsoon session to control 'mobocracy and lynching'.
Other opposition leaders also hit out at the Prime Minister.
Modi, speaking at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Thursday, said that killings in the name of cows were unacceptable and that nobody had the right to take the law in their hands.
"Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on. As a society, there is no place for violence. Killing people in the name of 'gau bhakti' is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve," Modi said.
Asserting that India was a land of non-violence, he said: "We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that?
Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, in a sarcasm-laced remark, said the "presence of Gandhiji's living spirit in Sabarmati Ashram" must have affected Modi.
Saying that the "state has been complicit in murders in cow's name", Gandhi hoped that Modi's statement would herald the beginning of a change.
IANS inputs