Maharashtra minister has claimed that there has been no child deaths in state due to malnutrition
Maharashtra Tribal Development Minister Vijaykumar Gavit today said in the state Assembly that there has been no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state in the last five years.
However, members of Sharad Pawar's party NCP and Congress objected to the minister's claim.
Mr Gavit said, "As per information shared by the state health department with my office, there is no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state."
"There are 16 districts in the state where tribal population is identified. No district has reported death due to malnutrition in the last five years," the minister said.
However, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar objected to Mr Gavit's response saying, "It is a well-known fact that there have been cases of malnutrition in the state and many children die due to it every year."
"In Melghat (Amravati district) alone, 18 children died between July 15 and August 15 this year," the NCP leader claimed.
After a row over the issue, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar asked the minister to reserve the question and produce fresh information about malnutrition.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)