The survey of about 100,000 children was conducted last year by the Centre and UNICEF.
New Delhi:
There is controversy over a national survey of children's health conducted months ago by the Centre, which has only yesterday released a provisional report, after being questioned by the opposition about the delay in release of data.
The government is yet to publish a state-wise break-up of data on malnutrition and questions are being asked on whether the delay is linked to Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, being found to have done poorly.
The Economist reported that it has accessed the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) and published data which shows that Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by PM Modi's BJP, fared worse than the national average on "stunting" (unusually short for their age) and "wasting"(weighing too little for their height) in children under 5 and underweight children under 5.
Those were the only two states to figure on all three lists of the poorest performers. Gujarat, one of India's most prosperous states, also performed poorly on low weight among 15-18 year old girls, along with Karnataka, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the data showed.
The Economist said a "possible reason" for the delay in release of the report "is the pride of India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, who ruled Gujarat for a dozen years."
"Don't hold data hostage to political compulsions," said Congress leader Ahmad Patel in a letter to Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. He asked why the "Ministry chose to publish only a part of this report but excluded states such as Gujarat, which has a chronic problem of malnutrition and child immunization."
"It is important that political parties do not politicise the entire matter... This government is committed to taking action on the ground reality. And for Congress to see politics in research shows their desperation," said the BJP's GVL Narsimha Rao today.
Explaining the delay, sources in the Maneka Gandhi's ministry said two similar surveys had thrown up different results and so a committee was studying the data for final numbers.
The survey of about 100,000 children was conducted last year by the Centre and UNICEF, the UN agency for children.
The government is yet to publish a state-wise break-up of data on malnutrition and questions are being asked on whether the delay is linked to Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, being found to have done poorly.
The Economist reported that it has accessed the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) and published data which shows that Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, both ruled by PM Modi's BJP, fared worse than the national average on "stunting" (unusually short for their age) and "wasting"(weighing too little for their height) in children under 5 and underweight children under 5.
Those were the only two states to figure on all three lists of the poorest performers. Gujarat, one of India's most prosperous states, also performed poorly on low weight among 15-18 year old girls, along with Karnataka, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the data showed.
The Economist said a "possible reason" for the delay in release of the report "is the pride of India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, who ruled Gujarat for a dozen years."
"Don't hold data hostage to political compulsions," said Congress leader Ahmad Patel in a letter to Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. He asked why the "Ministry chose to publish only a part of this report but excluded states such as Gujarat, which has a chronic problem of malnutrition and child immunization."
"It is important that political parties do not politicise the entire matter... This government is committed to taking action on the ground reality. And for Congress to see politics in research shows their desperation," said the BJP's GVL Narsimha Rao today.
Explaining the delay, sources in the Maneka Gandhi's ministry said two similar surveys had thrown up different results and so a committee was studying the data for final numbers.
The survey of about 100,000 children was conducted last year by the Centre and UNICEF, the UN agency for children.
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