By F. M. Britto
Raipur, July 15, 2019: The followers of Sant (Saint) Kabir, a local religious sect, have objected to the Chhattisgarh government serving eggs to school children in their free mid-day lunch.
Around thousand Kabir panthi (followers of Kabir) rallied through the streets of Kawardha on July 11 and submitted a memorandum to District Collector Avinish Sharan, demanding to stop serving eggs.
To provide nutritious food to the poor rural kids, the congress ruled central Indian state introduced a month ago eggs, milk and plantain, along with rice, instead of vegetables in the lunch on every Wednesday.
Ishwari Sahu, district president of the sect, told the media persons that if the practise is not ended by July 16, they will indefinitely block the state highway road in Kawardha district headquarter.
He said, their spiritual leader Guru Kabir had objected the consumption of non-vegetarian food, under which falls eggs. It is alleged to be a 600-year old religious sect.
Their innocent children consume it, along with other children or absent from the classes on the days eggs are served and thus their studies get affected, alleged Sita Ram Sahu, a member of the sect.
The sect’s former President Narendra Manikapuri alleged to the media that serving eggs to the children without obtaining the permission of the children’s parents is objectionable. the decision of the government is offensive to their community, he added.
The opposition BJP leader of the state Vijay Sharma also has supported the demand of the sect.