Hyderabad, Aug. 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told cow vigilantes to "shoot me" but not "my Dalit brothers", focusing on the theme for the second consecutive day and running into charges of rank opportunism ahead of next year's Uttar Pradesh elections.

"If you have to attack, attack me; if you have to fire bullets, shoot me but don't target my Dalit brothers," Modi told a meeting in Hyderabad, 24 hours after portraying cow vigilantes as nocturnal criminals who pose as daytime bovine benefactors.

The Prime Minister devoted a considerable part of his two speeches in Telangana to efforts to check the rising backlash against cow vigilantism.

"Some people want to create tension in society in the name of cow protection," Modi said. "But to protect the nation's unity and integrity is our responsibility."

"Some people are masquerading as gau rakshaks and are creating rift in society. We should be cautious of such fake cow protectors.... They have nothing to do with cow protection. I appeal to the state governments to probe such people, their deeds and initiate stringent action against them," Modi said.

But the Prime Minister also tried to suggest that an age-old "social problem" was being converted into a "political issue" by his opponents - an indirect negation of allegations that the BJP or allied organisations are protecting, if not egging on, the cow vigilantes

"It is a social problem and it has been plaguing us for centuries. But if made political, it becomes more complicated. We should abandon the politics that divide society," Modi said at a BJP meeting at LB Stadium in Hyderabad, the venue from where he launched his election campaign in August 2013.

"Some people think they have the contract over Dalit issues and consider Dalit votes as their property. They fear that if the Dalits come to know of what Modi did for them, their base would be lost. They cannot stomach that I am empowering them," Modi said and cited welfare schemes meant for the weaker sections.

"Walls are being built by some to divide society. This game has to stop now," he said.

Visiting Telangana state for the first time since he became Prime Minister, Modi laid the foundations for several projects. The projects are located in various districts but the plaques for the events were all unveiled at Gajwel, Telangana chief minister Chandrashekar Rao's constituency.

Although the inaugural events had no connection with cow protection, Modi steered his speech towards farming and the importance of cows.

In Lucknow, BSP president Mayawati ridiculed Modi for taking so long to break his silence after cow vigilantism had become an issue and reminded him that the majority of the incidents had taken place in the BJP-ruled states.

Mayawati said it was unfortunate that Modi had avoided a statement in Parliament and escaped the questions of the Opposition. "He preferred to speak at a place where nobody could ask him unpleasant questions," she said.

"His sole intention behind yesterday's statement against the criminal gau rakshaks was to salvage the situation before the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year," she said.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad said over the phone: " Yeh gau raksha nahi, vote raksha hai (It's not cow protection but vote protection). Actually, he is afraid of losing the vote bank."