Overview
- The four-day march from Varanasi ended peacefully in Lucknow under a 26-condition permit, with a smaller-than-expected crowd reported by local media.
- Swami Avimukteshwaranand announced a statewide ‘Kavishti/Gavishthi’ yatra from May 3 to July 23 starting and ending in Gorakhpur, with outreach planned across roughly 1.08 lakh villages and a follow-up gathering in Lucknow on July 24.
- The campaign presses for the cow to be recognised as ‘Rashtra Mata’ and for a nationwide slaughter ban, which the seer characterises as a religious duty rather than a political project.
- Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met the seer in Lucknow after Congress and SP figures attended the programme, and the seer said he asked the SP to submit a formal cow-protection proposal.
- A Prayagraj FIR accusing the seer of molesting two minors remains on record, which he denies, as the dispute with authorities traces back to January’s Magh Mela confrontation.