Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged that the Modi government has betrayed India's women and children on healthcare and nutrition, claiming that the BJP's "absolute incompetence" has been unmasked by the findings of the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6).
Citing NFHS data, Kharge said one in five children suffer from acute malnutrition, one-third of children are underweight, more than 84 per cent of children aged 6 to 23 months do not receive adequate nutrition, 57 per cent of women aged 15-49 are anaemic, and one in five women is undernourished.
"Not only does the Modi government betray India's women and children on healthcare and nutrition, but it also deliberately hides crucial data which exposes its failures," Kharge said in a post on X.
The Congress chief further accused the BJP of following a five-step formula to conceal its failures, alleging that it buries selected data, abandons vulnerable groups, promotes slogans such as "Sabka Saath" and "Amrit Kaal", manipulates the narrative, and protects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public image at all costs.
The remarks came days after the Union Health Ministry released findings from NFHS-6, conducted during 2023-24 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, serving as the nodal agency.
The survey covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts and provides data on population, health, nutrition and family welfare indicators to support programme implementation at the district level.
According to the Union Health Ministry, NFHS-6 shows that India has registered significant improvements in child health indicators, including immunisation coverage and nutritional outcomes, and continues to make progress towards universal immunisation coverage.
(With inputs from PTI)
