Raipur: The issue of inclusion of eggs in the mid-day meals served at government schools rocked the Chhattisgarh assembly Thursday, with the opposition BJP and others demanding that eggs should not be a part of the menu.
Soon after Question Hour, senior BJP MLAs Brijmohan Agrawal, Shivratan Sharma and Ajay Chandrakar sought a discussion on the issue through an adjournment motion.
Sharma said vegetarian communities were angry with the government’s decision to distribute eggs in schools which are “temples of knowledge”
Communities such as Kabirpanthi, Radha Swami, Gayatri Parivar, Jains and others were against the decision, he said.
Agrawal said Kabirpanth Dharmaguru Prakash Muni Naam Saheb had staged a sit-in on Raipur-Bilaspur highway to protest the decision.
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Congress legislators Mohan Markam, Brihaspat Singh, Amarjeet Bhagat and others interrupted opposition leaders.
The government wanted to provide eggs, which are a source of proteins, to students as the malnutrition rate in Chhattisgarh is around 40 per cent, they pointed out.
Due to repeated interruptions by Congress legislators, the BJP MLAs walked out.
The speaker then adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes.
Later, when the proceedings resumed, Brijmohan Agrawal along with other BJP MLAs and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh legislative party leader Dharmjeet Singh again raised the issue.
Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said school education minister Premsai Singh Tekam would make a statement on the issue.
But BJP members rejected Tekam’s statement and trooped into the Well, shouting slogans. The speaker then adjourned the proceedings for the day.