As the blame game over the Bihar mid-day meal tragedy gains momentum, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Atun Anjan on Friday lashed out at the leaders of various political outfits and lamented over the fact that even a people-friendly scheme has been politicised.
"More than 45 percent children are suffering from malnourishment in our country which is not our figures, but of the United Nations. Poverty has reached such levels that people are unable to send their children to schools. More than 12 to 14 million children are unable to go to schools and this scheme was made keeping them in mind. But it is sad that this too has become the victim of politics," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today criticized the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) Government for ignoring the warning received by the Centre over the quality of mid-day meals served in schools in Bihar.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the Bihar Government has to come forward and take responsibility of the incident.
"The JD-U leaders and Government of Bihar always agree to the Central Government's dictates then why did they differ from the Central Government's warning on the quality of mid-day meal. Pallam Raju has said that he had warned the Bihar Government," he said.
According to reports, the Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry had in April 2013 warned the Bihar Government over problems faced by the mid-day meal scheme in the state.
A forensic report on whether the free lunch served to children in Bihar's Chhapra District on Tuesday was poisoned will be submitted today.
Even as the government awaits the results of the tests from the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SLFL), no arrests have been made in the case.
Bihar Police conducted raids on Wednesday night across the local district of Saran as part of its hunt for Meena Devi, the headmistress of the school, who fled after students started falling ill.
Her husband, who reportedly provided groceries to the school for the mid-day meals, is also on the run.
The toll rose to 23 yesterday after the death of one more child. Several children are undergoing treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital. They were admitted to the hospital after consuming mid-day meals served to them at a government primary school in Dahrmasati village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Mashrakh Block, about 25 kilometers from Chhapra on Tuesday.
The children are aged between 8 and 12 years. They fell ill soon after eating the meal which consisted of rice, pulses and soybeans.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.
Nitish Kumar has also announced a compensation of two lakh rupees each to the families of the deceased.
