The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday criticised the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) Government in Bihar over yet another mid-day meal tragedy in the state, and said it should come out with a statement as to what steps it has taken since the last unfortunate incident till today.
"It's shocking to know this. Soon after much before the inquiry into the last unfortunate episode, incident like this just shocks all of us. It's important that the Bihar Government immediately attend to this issue, make sure that children do not suffer due to anybody's negligence," said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman.
"The BJP demands that the Bihar Government immediately come out with a statement as to what steps it has taken since the last unfortunate incident till today so that confidence is given to the people whose children are the ones who are suffering," she added.
More than 20 children fell ill today after eating the midday meal in Vaishali, Bihar.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, yesterday said the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme needed to be improved to ensure that the tragedy in Bihar in which 23 schoolchildren died was not repeated "anywhere in the country".
"About 11 crore children are being provided afternoon meals every day in schools under the mid-day meal scheme. This programme is of immense benefit for both education and nutrition of children," said Dr. Singh in his address to the nation on Independence Day.
"However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy that happened in Bihar some days back should not be repeated anywhere in the country," he added.
Dr. Singh also called for reforming the mid-day meal scheme.
"The meals being provided to our children should not only be nutritious but also be cooked hygienically. We will take concrete measures to ensure this," he said.
Twenty-three children died after eating a contaminated mid-day meal in Bihar's Saran district last month.
