MP includes eggs in mid-day meals, BJP says it won’t check malnutrition

BJP has raised its voice against the government’s decision. State BJP vice-president Rameshwar Sharma said the children could be given protein through other food items.

Madhya Pradesh government will offer eggs to children during mid-day meal in anganwadis across the state, said minister for woman and child development (WCD) Imarti Devi on Wednesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party has opposed the move.

Sharma said the minister claimed that eggs would be given to the kids to tackle malnutrition but the fact was it would enhance the level of malnutrition. (HT File)

“We will provide eggs to children in anganwadis across the state from the next month in a bid to tackle malnutrition. However, it’s at the conceptual level and the same will be offered on advice of the doctors,” said the minister while talking to the media persons.

However, BJP has raised its voice against the government’s decision. State BJP vice-president Rameshwar Sharma said the children could be given protein through other food items.

The BJP had been opposed to the provision of eggs as a part of the mid-day meal.

Sharma said the minister claimed that eggs would be given to the kids to tackle malnutrition but the fact was it would enhance the level of malnutrition. The reason being those kids from vegetarian families might stop going to the angwanwadi centres. Hence, BJP would oppose the government’s any such move, he said.

She added that the earlier BJP government had also taken a decision to the effect but it didn’t implement it. She said that there was nothing new in the scheme. Madhya Pradesh has as many as 97,135 anganwadis across the state and 65.71 lakh children from 6 months to 6 years were enrolled with these anganwadis as on March 31, 2019, according to a WCD department official.