Union Minister Maneka Gandhi today said that she too was averse to serving eggs in the aaganwadi centres, months after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had struck down such a proposal in the state.
"I don't think that eggs should be served in aaganwadi centres (pre-schools)," Gandhi, who is the minister for Women and Child Welfare, told reporters here when asked about Chouhan's decision to turn down a proposal in this regard some time back.
"One, eggs need cold chain. Needs to be preserved in fridges as they are perishable. "It will be injustice if eggs are served before cold chains are setup," she said.
The Minister said that she had already conveyed her concerns to the states on this issue.
Moreover, Gandhi said eggs become stale after some time.
She further said that purchase of eggs will lead to "corruption" as well.
"Thirdly, the eggs have high cholesterol content which is unhealthy. If eggs, which are preserved for too long and served to children, they may fall sick", she added.
Earlier, Chouhan, a strict vegetarian himself, had shot down a proposal to re-introduce eggs in anganwadi meals, but allowed milk to be served to children and pregnant women at the anganwadi centres in the state.
