India has largest number of malnourished people, says Minister Atishi

India has the "largest number of malnourished" people, despite being the second largest producer of food in the world, Delhi Minister Atishi said in London, prompting sharp reactions from the BJP which alleged that she "defamed" the country on an international platform.

Addressing the Cambridge India Conference in London on Thursday, the Delhi education minister claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has brought a major shift in the politics of India by his "exemplary work" in the past eight years.

"It is for the first time in the democratic history of India that politics is being done on governance and parties across the country have education and health as their top agenda," Atishi said, adding, "It is really concerning that it took us 75 years since Independence to discuss politics that delivers these basic amenities."

"It has taken so many years for governments to prioritize education and healthcare. In the past 75 years, we have not had a single political party that claimed to transform the education system of the country and provide quality education to every child, regardless of their background," she at the event hosted by Cambridge Judge Business School.

 

Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as well as Atishi over their statements abroad, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that their remarks need not be taken seriously.

"There are two youth leaders. One goes to America... there is another youth leader... She goes to England and says that there are 35 crore people hungry in India. The prime minister is giving 80 crore people free ration, where these 35 crore came from," Puri told reporters in Jammu.

Speaking on the topic "Education- Building India's Future at 100" at the conference in London, Atishi also discussed the Delhi Education Model there.

Recalling her school days, Atishi mentioned social science textbooks at that time placed India as a developing country. "The narrative at the time was that India would become a developed country by 2020. However... India still carries the tag of developing nation," she noted.

It is often highlighted that India has the largest number of growing billionaires, with the number increasing from 102 in 2020 to 166 in 2022, Atishi said.

"However, another figure during this period is the number of hungry people in the country, which grew from 19 crores to 35 crores. This is alarming considering that India is the second-largest producer of food in the world. Despite this, it has the largest number of malnourished or undernourished people," she added.

She said that although India's GDP crossed the USD 3.5 trillion mark and is the fastest-growing G20 economy, "the reality is more worrying and requires immediate attention".

"One key indicator of the country's situation is the Human Development Index, where India ranks 132 out of 191 countries. Several smaller countries or countries considered comparable to India, such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, have higher ranks in this index."

The country has two models, the Delhi minister told the conference. The first model, which the AAP has presented for the past eight years, aims to empower every citizen of the state by giving them access to education and enabling them to solve the country's problems.

"The second model is that of the party in power in the central government, which is resorting to various means to imprison opposition leaders through CBI and ED, engaging in the buying MLAs and introducing ordinances that undermine the power of elected governments," she claimed.

Hitting out at the AAP leader, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said her statement was "shameful" and a case of treason should be filed against her.

"The whole country wants to know from Atishi where did she get the figure of 35 crore hungry people. The leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, who call themselves staunch patriots, have left no stone unturned to embarrass the country today," he said.