Using women as vote bank won’t make them less anaemic, providing nutrition will: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday lambasted the Odisha government over a health report that put the government on dock over the prevalence of anaemia in women.

The BJP alleged that the Odisha government has completely failed in providing nutritious food to women in the State. At a time when Amlan Scheme was launched to ensure nutrition for women, this health report published by it speaks volumes about their incompetency, the party alleged.

Addressing a press conference, State BJP General Secretary, Lekhashree Samantsinghar said, “If we are discussing anaemia this is because the Odisha government has failed miserably to provide nutritious food to women and children. For the State government, nutrition means only rice. But in actuality, there are other foods that the BJD-led government has failed to deliver to the people.”

Targeting the Odisha government on alleged undemocratic tours of the 5T secretary to several districts, Samantsinghar said, “Mobilising women to 5T Secretary’s public meetings won’t make them less anaemic neither using them as a vote bank. The government should stop misleading people and start providing them nutritious food.”

In November 2022, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched AMLAN- ‘Anaemia Mukta Lakhya Abhiyan’ in the state. The state had formulated a multi-pronged approach for accelerated reduction of anaemia among targeted groups.

The chief minister had said the programme will be rolled out in 55,000 government and government-aided schools and 74,000 Anganwadi Centres across the state.