BJP leader Gopal Bhargava. (Photo/ANI)

Madhya Pradesh anganwadi egg row: Making children eat eggs and meat can turn them into cannibals later in life, believes Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopal Bhargava. Slamming the Kamal Nath government’s decision to include eggs in the menu for aganwadis in the state, Bhargava, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, said eating non-veg was against Indian culture.

“What else can you expect from this malnourished government? They are now feeding children eggs…force them to eat chicken, mutton. Indian culture doesn’t allow eating non-vegetarian food. If they begin to eat eggs and meat from childhood…they may become cannibals later,” Bhargava told reporters.

The leader’s remark came a day after his party announced that it will oppose the idea mooted by state Women and Child Welfare Minister Imarti Devi idea to include eggs in diet of children at anganwadis.

#WATCH Madhya Pradesh (MP) BJP leader Gopal Bhargava on MP government’s proposal to distribute eggs at Anganwadis says, “Bharat ke jo sanskar hain, sanatan sanskriti mein mansahaar nished hai. Agar bachpan se hi hum ise khaayenge toh bade ho kar nar bhakshi na ho jaayen.” (30.10) pic.twitter.com/s9INELUsYw — ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2019

BJP national general secretary had on Wednesday described the move as “interfering with the faith and religious beliefs of the people.”

“We will oppose any such proposal. I think this is an attempt to interfere with the religious belief and faith of the people,” news agency PTI quoted Vijayvargiya, as saying.

During the previous BJP regime, similar scheme was proposed in 2015. However, the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had rejected the proposal.

Incidentally, the row over providing eggs to children has erupted just days after India was placed below Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan in global hunger and malnutrition index. The report said that with a score of 30.3 India faces a severe level of hunger.