Bhopal, Jan 5 (IANS): The Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat over the deaths of hundreds of cows in a shelter in the state.

Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh said he wrote to Modi and Bhagwat demanding that the deaths of cows in the country's biggest shelter in Agar Malwa district's Salariya village be probed and guilty be booked for murder.

State Congress chief Arun Yadav asked why are the people who give a free hand to cow vigilantes, who kill people caught with a single cow, silent on the deaths of so many cows.

Ajay Singh said he visited the shelter with Yadav on Tuesday and saw that many cows were in a bad condition. "The cows who had died had not been buried properly and dogs were feasting on the carcasses... It was a shameful sight."

"To get votes, these people (in the Bharatiya Janata Party) do not shy away from calling the cow 'gau mata' (cow mother) and even 'rashtra mata' (mother of the nation) but once the votes are in, they forget everything."

The two Congress leaders said that in the past three months, more than 400 cows have died at the shelter but the administration is accepting only 117 deaths.

The letter was sent to Bhagwat in Ujjain where the RSS chief is currently camping with some Bharatiya Janata Party members.

Bhagwat and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were both present at the foundation laying ceremony of this shelter, the letter said, adding Chouhan had even said the spot will be made a pilgrimage place of cows.