In a statement, that is being called insensitive and absurd, the leader of opposition of Madhya Pradesh, Gopal Bhargava has said that if children are fed eggs since childhood they might grow up to become cannibals.
Bhargava's statement comes in the context of the ongoing controversy regarding a proposal of the state government to serve eggs to children in anganwadis of tribal-dominated blocks of the district.
The plan has not yet been officially announced, but the state women and child development minister Imarti Devi has said that it is under consideration because of the high nutritional value of eggs. She has also made clear that the consumption of eggs would be optional for the kids. MP has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country, especially among tribal kids.
However, the opposition BJP has upped its ante on the issue. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan led government had shot down the proposal to include eggs in supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) run through anganwadis under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in the year 2015.
Several states in the country, especially those in the south, give eggs to children as part of SNP or mid-day meal scheme (for schools) as a way to combat malnutrition. Even BJP led governments to have such provisions in states of Jharkhand and Uttarakhand and the programme continues in Karnataka under the BJP regime too. Eggs are served to kids in Bihar too, where BJP is a partner in the government.
But, the BJP leaders in MP have started vociferously opposing the proposal in MP. Gopal Bhargava told media persons late on Wednesday evening that Indian culture, the Sanatan culture prohibits the consumption of non-vegetarian.
“If we start eating it (eggs) from childhood, we would certainly eat meat when we grow up and who knows, we might even turn cannibals,” Bhargava said in Hindi ("Bharat ke jo sanskar hain, sanatan sanskriti mein mansahaar nished hai. Agar bachpan se hi hum ise khaayenge toh bade ho kar gosht toh khayenge hi..narbhakshi na ho jaayen.").
His statement followed that of the national general secretary of BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya who said that the proposal will be opposed as it amounted to interfering with religious faith and beliefs of the people. BJP MLA from Bhopal Rameshwar Sharma also said that the proposal of giving eggs to children was against public sentiments and they should not be forced to become non-vegetarians.
Congress media cell chief Shobha Oza however strongly reacted to statements of Bhargava and other BJP leaders. She said that it seems leaders like Bhargava had become deranged because of being out of power. “Bhargava's statement is absurd. His and other BJPS leaders' statements show that they do not have even little sensitivity towards the nutritional needs of the children. This is the reason why MP continued to have the highest number of malnourished children during the past 15 years. Several states have this provision including some BJP ruled states. Also, it will not be compulsory but optional (to consume eggs),” Oza said.
High malnutrition in MP
Madhya Pradesh has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country, with 42 per cent children stunted and 42.8 per cent underweight according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4). The malnutrition rate is particularly higher among scheduled tribe (48.2% stunted and 51.5% underweight) and scheduled caste (47.6% and 45.9% respectively) children, Sachin Jain of Right to Food Campaign said while talking to THE WEEK.
Jain had written to the chief minister Kamal Nath in detail, seeking inclusion of eggs in the SNP as well as mid-day meal scheme while enumerating benefits of its consumption vis a vis combating of malnutrition. He had also listed out the states that offer eggs to children in schools and anganwadis and said while none of the children should be forced to consume them, the majority could not be denied.
