Kanpur, May 7 -- Sparking a controversy, Uttar Pradesh higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyaya on Wednesday said the English nursery rhyme "Johnny, Johnny! Yes Papa? Eating sugar? No papa" sows the seeds of dishonesty in children.

Rhymes rooted in Western culture fail to impart moral or cultural values, he said while addressing para teachers, or shiksha mitras at Merchant Chambers' hall in Kanpur. He contrasted English rhymes with older Hindi poems, which he said carried meaningful life lessons.

He cited the rhyme's central exchange, in which a child denies eating sugar, as normalising deception.

The rhyme, believed to have been documented by American scholar Francella Butler remains widely used in early childhood education in Ind...