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The New Indian Express
Madhya Pradesh shocker: Condoms, birth-control pills in state govt’s wedding gift kits
The controversy surfaced at the mass wedding event of 296 couples in Thandla block of the tribal-dominated Jhabua district on Monday. BHOPAL: With condoms and birth control pills being found in make-up kits gifted to newly married brides under the National Health Mission (NHM), a political controversy has erupted into the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana — a flagship scheme of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. The controversy surfaced at the mass wedding event of 296 couples in Thandla block of the tribal-dominated Jhabua district on Monday. As the couples unwrapped the make-up boxes/kits gifted to them, they found packets of condoms and birth-control pills inside. The visuals of the event have gone viral on social media. The development gave fresh ammo to the opposition Congress to attack the government in the assembly poll year. “It shows the BJP government has crossed all limits of shamelessness. It’s perhaps the first time in MP that such a dirty joke has been played with brides,” said state Congress spokesperson Sangita Sharma. BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga tried to clear the air. “The kits are being distributed as part of new guidelines of the National Health Mission. Congress needs to make it clear whether it is against educating newly-wed couples about family planning.” The in-charge chief executive officer (CEO) of Thandla Nagar Palika Parishad, Bhoor Singh Rawat, said: “We don’t have to do anything with the distribution of the gifts; these are possibly gifted by the health department out of their family planning promotional efforts.” Last month in another tribal-dominated district Dindori, a row was triggered by the alleged pregnancy tests of young girls enrolled in the marriage scheme. What’s the scheme? Launched in 2006, the local urban body directly credits `49,000 into the accounts of each newly wed bride while the rest `6,000 is spent to fund the food and other marriage ceremony-related expenses. (THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS)
