He reportedly spoke about his journey to a small village in the Nandurbar region of Maharashtra, where the adivasi people served him food. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: Earlier this week, Sanjay Raut – a Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP – urged the Rajya Sabha to consider classifying chicken and eggs as vegetarian food items.

Raut, who was speaking on the subject of ayurveda, reportedly “took everyone by surprise” and demanded a decision from the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) on whether chicken is vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

He reportedly spoke about his journey to a small village in the Nandurbar region of Maharashtra, where the adivasi people served him food. “When I ask them what was it, they said it was an ayurvedic chicken. They also said that they take care of it in such a way that after (eating) you will get rid of all illnesses,” he said.

He also said that researchers at Chaudhary Charan Singh University of Meerut, are working on “ayurvedic eggs”.

He quoted the same researchers and added that chicken that is fed ayurvedic food will produce ayurvedic eggs, which will be an apt source of protein for vegetarians.

Indians took to social media had an appropriate response to Raut’s statements.