- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s right-wing Hindu party which rules the country but is in the opposition in the north-western state of Rajasthan, on Tuesday (20) staged a massive protest in state capital Jaipur over the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) that has killed more than 57,000 cattle and affected another 1.1 million.
The protesters clashed with the police, crushing barricades and chanting slogans after they were prevented from marching to the state assembly.
Rajasthan is ruled by the Indian National Congress, the national opposition to prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
#WATCH | A huge crowd of BJP members gather in protest in Rajasthan's Jaipur over the death of thousands of cattle in the state due to lumpy skin disease pic.twitter.com/8WpMtW3n1O
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2022
The BJP has been raising the issue in the state assembly. On Monday (19), one of its lawmakers even brought a cow outside the assembly building to draw the state authorities’ attention towards the disease.
The state government of chief minister Ashok Gehlot asked the Modi government to announce the LSD as a national calamity as it has spread to 13 states of the country.
“Our priority is how to save the lives of cows from lumpy skin disease. The Centre has to give the vaccine and medicines, so in such a situation we are demanding the Centre to declare it a national calamity,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The disease has also affected milk business in Jaipur, causing a rise in the price of sweets manufactured in Rajasthan. Jaipur Dairy Federation, the biggest milk cooperative in the state, said that collection of milk diminished by 15-18 per cent. No disruption in the supply of milk has been reported so far.
Gehlot also expressed concern over the situation since animal husbandry constitutes the backbone of the state’s economy.
He wrote to Modi emphasising on the need for additional help to counter the disease and wanted his state to be given a priority once the vaccine is ready to counter it.
While there is no vaccine yet to counter LSD, goat pox vaccine has proved to be effective. While 1.2 million cattle have been given the shot so far, yet the high level of death and infection has left the authorities worried.
Rajasthan goes to polls next year.
