MP Politics

As the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Yadav, faces formidable challenges, including the need to diversify the state’s economy beyond its agricultural sector, create non-government jobs, and ensure social harmony in the state. Having the support of the entire BJP leadership, including the prime minister, as well as a relatively clean slate, he has the opportunity to address these issues head on. However, CM Yadav’s first policy initiative — implementing the Government of India “guidelines” on food safety, the MP authorities are enforcing a functional ban on the open sale of meat, poultry and eggs — is dispiriting. Police, the food department, and local authorities are participating in a “campaign” between December 15th and 31st. The announcement was soon followed by the demolition of at least 10 meat shops and the homes of three people in Ujjain and Bhopal shortly after it was made. Houses that were demolished were reportedly owned by people from a particular community. No one can argue that hygiene guidelines should not be a priority in public health policy. Even so, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the selective nature of the meat and egg ban has a political and ideological undercurrent. There is no doubt that eggs can be contaminated by salmonella, and cabbage contaminated with e coli can also pose a health hazard. Like much of India’s egg and poultry sector, the eggs and poultry sector in Madhya Pradesh – like much of the Indian countryside – is largely unorganised. The current campaign can be used to target small business owners and workers along the entire value chain, from those who rear chickens to those who run roadside eateries. This raises the issue of over-policing and rent-seeking, both of which are understandable fears. Bringing up the standards of hygiene in the meat and poultry industry at the national and international level is important since it is also a source of employment. That requires the government to act as a facilitator, not a bulldozer.Food in India is deeply intertwined with identity, exclusion and social hierarchies. Nutrition — in a country where stunting and wasting continue to be major public health concerns – requires policy interventions. Unfortunately, in MP, the politics of the former threatens to overwhelm the need for the latter. For much of Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s last two terms in office, the issue of eggs being provided in Anganwadi could not be resolved — eventually, they were banned. This is also the policy in tribal areas, where there is no taboo against non-vegetarian food and the value of eggs as a protein source has been advocated by doctors and public health experts. As MP tries to create jobs outside agriculture and ensure a healthy population, it can illafford to target an industry that can be a major potential job creator. The new CM must make governance and growth his calling card — not the police lathi and a government-sponsored bulldozer.

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