Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday alleged that gau rakshaks (cow protectors) are forced to come out on streets as authorities have failed to deal strictly with those involved in cow smuggling, PTI reported. A few cow vigilantes who “go overboard” damage the reputation of “90% of the genuine people” who work for cow protection, he added.

“No one speaks about cow smugglers,” PTI quoted Ramdev as saying in Jaipur. “Why are cow slaughterers given encouragement? It should never happen. We are not in favour of those having licence for cow slaughterhouse and those transporting animals.”

He sought strict action against those involved in illegal cow slaughter. “Who else can be a bigger ‘rashtra bhakt’ [patriot] and ‘gau bhakt’ [cow protector] than Prime Minister Narendra Modi?” he said. “He should enact a law to ban cow slaughter in the country.”

Commenting on the National Register of Citizens in Assam, Ramdev said no one should be allowed to live illegally in the country. He claimed that nearly three crore to four crore people had been living illegally in India.