IndiaTomorrow.net,

New Delhi, Sep 24: President of India Pranab Mukherjee has been urged "to play his effective role in defending the constitutional rights of people who are increasingly being persecuted" in the name of cow in different parts of the country. Civil leaders from various religious communities also demanded the President that "cow vigilantism should be banned and people should be allowed to eat food of their choice."

At the end of a big demonstration near the Parliament House on Friday held to protest against the rise in attacks on Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Adivasis since the Narendra Modi-led BJP government was formed at the centre in May 2014, a memorandum was submitted to the President of India.

The memorandum carried various demands including ban on cow vigilantism, setting up of a commission to probe the recent attacks, judicial enquiries in incidents of Dadri lynching and Bijnor killings and compensation to the victims.

The protest demonstration was addressed by eminent people from different communities including Nusrat Ali and Mohammad Salim Engineer (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Navaid Hamid (All India Muslim Majlise- Mushawarat), Abdul Hameed Nomani (Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind) and Dalit leader Ashok Bharti.