Bhopal/Maihar, Jan 27 The opposition Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh after a video went viral on social media showing that school children were served mid-day on papers instead of a plate at a government-run primary school in Maihar district on the Republic Day.
Responding to the matter, state Congress president Jitu Patwari said on Tuesday that Maihar’s incident has exposed the tall claim of the BJP government on mid-meal.
He slammed the government, terming the incident a “symbol of the failure of the system, governance, and human compassion in Madhya Pradesh.”
Referring to a similar incident that previously occurred in Sheopur district, where children were allegedly served mid-day meals on papers, Patwari said that, “such incidents are not only an insult to the children but also an insult to education, the Constitution.”
Citing the NCRB’s report, the Congress leader further stated that approximately 10 lakh children in the state are malnourished, and about 1.36 lakh of them are severely malnourished.
“This dire situation exists even though official figures from the central government have confirmed widespread malnutrition in the state, and the CAG report has clearly confirmed the nutritional food scam in Madhya Pradesh,” he stated.
The controversy emerged after a video clip of the incident went viral on social media, showing students sitting on the floor and eating halwa-puri served to them on torn pages from old notebooks and books.
Meanwhile, faced with criticism for serving the mid-meal on pages of notebooks and papers, the district administration took punitive action against the responsible officials following an inquiry into the matter on Tuesday.
“Based on the investigation report received from District Project Coordinator (DPC) Vishnu Tripathi, a proposal for suspending the in-charge Principal of the Government High School, Sunil Kumar Tripathi, has been forwarded to the Commissioner, Rewa. Additionally, the salary of contract employee, BRC Pradeep Singh, has been deducted for one month,” reads a notification issued by the district administration.
--IANS
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