New Delhi (EFE).- The initiative of a local government to give contraceptives in a gift kit at the wedding of hundreds of couples in India has forced the authorities to explain the purpose of these gifts due to criticism and shame reactions caused.
“Shamelessness at its peak. The BJP government of the state of Madhya Pradesh has distributed condoms and contraceptive pills in makeup boxes,” published India’s main opposition party, the Congress, to accuse the ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.
Gifts distributed at a collective wedding
The gifts were distributed at a collective wedding, organized by the regional government of the state of Madhya Pradesh for low-income couples, under a social program for marriage.
The contraceptives were found inside a toiletry bag handed out to nearly 300 married couples in a collective ceremony in the Madhya Pradesh town of Thandla. In addition to the pills and condoms, the box included a hair comb and a packet of bindi, the traditional decorative dot worn on the forehead by many women in India.
A district official, Bhursingh Rawat, today explained to the media about the incident and blamed the regional health department, assuring that the direct organizers of the event had no knowledge of the contents of the boxes.
“We are not responsible for distributing condoms and birth control pills. It is possible that the health department gave away the material as part of their family planning awareness program,” Rawat said.
Government plan for marriages
According to official information, the government plan created in 2006 stipulates the delivery of about 600 dollars for the bride, and another 60 dollars for the mass marriage ceremony.
The objective of this plan is to provide financial assistance to girls, widows, or women abandoned after marriage, who live below the poverty line.
This same program was called into question last April after some women were subjected to pregnancy tests before weddings, which was considered by the opposition party of Congress as “an insult to the poor.”
The regional government later explained that the women were examined because some of them reported health conditions, so the doctors decided to rule out several possibilities.