Harsh Vardhan calls women's body a temple, sparks controversy

New Delhi, Aug 30: Union Health Minister

stirred yet another

on the social media on Thursday by referring to a woman's body as a temple and stressing that it's important from a nation's point of view.

Vardhan, who was speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of a women's college here, said this while addressing the rising incidence of illness in young urban women. "A woman's body is a temple, extremely important from the perspective of a nation's future. Building a new generation of healthy women has a salutary effect on family, society and nation because each woman multitasks as professional in her chosen field, mother and teacher of her children, and, above all, custodian of collective values," an Economic Times report quoted the minister as saying.

The remark kicked up a storm in the social media with the Twitterati ridiculing the doctor-minister for his language. While some criticised his point that a women's body is a temple belonging to the nation, others raised objection to the advice to women to multitask as professionals and family person.

Harsh Vardhan recently came to headlines over removal of AIIMS vigilance officer

Harsh Vardhan also expressed worry over the rising challenges that modern lifestyle is posing to the women and said the government needed help of social and religious groups to counter it. The minister also advised against slimming through excessive workouts and starvation.

The BJP leader was in the headlines recently after saying that AIDS awareness messages stressed more on the use of condoms and also over the removal of the vigilance officer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The officer had blown the whistle on many corruption cases.

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