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Will Children Turn Into Cannibals If They Eat Eggs? That's What This BJP Leader Thinks

The Madhya Pradesh midday meal controversy just entered bizarre territory.
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Gopal Bhargava/Facebook-Getty Images
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Are you a non-vegetarian? Do you eat eggs? If this BJP leader is to be believed, you could one day begin eating human flesh.

Gopal Bhargava, BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, said on Wednesday that children will start eating all sorts of meat, perhaps even human flesh, if they were given eggs in midday meals. Yes, you read that right.

This is just one of the claims the BJP has made in protest of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government’s proposal to include eggs in midday meals in the state.

Bhargava told ANI, “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. (Consuming meat is forbidden in Indian culture. If we eat such things when we are children, we will grow up to be cannibals)”.

This is not the first time BJP leaders have protested against the inclusion of eggs, a proven source of protein, in the diets of school children—they have earlier claimed that schools were “temples of knowledge” and hence eggs shouldn’t be eaten there.

But Bharagava’s comments come across as peacock-tear-level bizarre.

Madhya Pradesh Women and Child Welfare Minister Imarti Devi had proposed the inclusion of eggs in midday meals because of the high nutritional level of eggs.

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The BJP however vehemently opposed the move, saying this was against Indian culture.

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

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said, “Several children and their mothers don’t even touch eggs. The Congress government should not force vegetarians to become non-vegetarians.”

The beef with eggs in midday meals in Madhya Pradesh isn’t a first. Earlier this year, in July, the Congress government in Chhattisgarh had faced flak for floating the idea of introducing eggs in midday meals.

After the Opposition in the state protested on similar religious grounds, the government said that it would actually deliver eggs to the homes of students who would want it.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.