Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a table with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and fellow parliamentarians at a special ‘millet-only’ lunch hosted by Union Minister Narendra Tomar on Parliament premises.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi tweeted: “As we prepare to mark 2023 as the International Year of Millets, attended a sumptuous lunch in Parliament where millet dishes were served. Good to see participation from across party lines.”
As we prepare to mark 2023 as the International Year of Millets, attended a sumptuous lunch in Parliament where millet dishes were served. Good to see participation from across party lines. pic.twitter.com/PjU1mQh0F3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 20, 2022
Besides Kharge, Modi was seen having lunch with Tomar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar.
“We prepared delicacies including roti and sweets made out of jowar, bajra, and ragi for which chefs were specially brought in from Karnataka,” Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje told news agency ANI.
Earlier in the day, during the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Modi had told MPs to work to promote millets. “As over 85 per cent of Indian farmers falling in the category of small farmers grow millets in large numbers, a rise in the consumption of these grains will help them financially,” he told BJP members, according to Union minister Pralhad Joshi.
The PM also said that the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets on his government’s request as he called for making the bouquet of grains high on nutrition a popular choice of food for people.
He also said that millets will be on the menu with tens of thousands of foreign delegates expected to attend a large number of meetings associated with the G-20, which India is currently chairing. He added these can be used in anganwadis, schools, homes and government meetings as well. He suggested that MPs make millets a part of their own meetings too.
(With inputs from agencies)
