Priyanka Gandhi flays UP govt over mid-day meal of roti, salt in Mirzapur school; principal, staff suspended

Amid reports of students in a Mirzapur school being served roti with salt for a mid-day meal, Congress general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Friday and said that the treatment of the government towards the children is condemnable. Taking to Twitter, she said: “Students are being served salt and rotis in mid-day meals in a school in Mirzapur. This is the state of affairs of BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. The facilities provided by the government are becoming poor and such treatment towards children is condemnable”.

#Mirzapur के एक स्कूल में बच्चों को मिड-डे-मील में नमक रोटी दी जा रही है।

ये उत्तर प्रदेश भाजपा सरकार की व्यवस्था का असल हाल है।
जहाँ सरकारी सुविधाओं की दिन-ब-दिन दुर्गति की जा रही है। बच्चों के साथ हुआ ये व्यवहार बेहद निंदनीय है। pic.twitter.com/FMD5cYE5Jn

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) August 23, 2019

Her comments came after children in a primary school in Hinauta village were served rotis and salt instead of vegetable or pulses along with milk and fruits for their lunch as part of the mid-day meal scheme on Thursday.

#WATCH – Children at a primary school in Hinauta village of Mirzapur being served chappatis with salt as mid-day meal. A probe has been ordered & a teacher has been suspended in the incident. pic.twitter.com/nQCh8Mnj2X

— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 23, 2019

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After being intimated about it, district authorities called it “a serious lapse” and have initiated an inquiry into the incident at Siyur primary school in Hinauta village. The authorities have also suspended the basic shiksha adhikari (basic education officer), the school principal and the entire staff , according to CNN-News18. While several children at the school claimed they had not received any milk too during the meal, the cook at the school, an elderly lady, claimed that she was provided just half a kilogram of potatoes to feed all the children in the school. Blaming teachers for the mismanagement, Mirzapur district magistrate Anurag Patel earlier said: “As per the orders by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the menu of mid-day meals across the districts is fixed. They are also given fruits and milk on some days. But these incidents happen due to the lapse (negligence) of teachers and supervisory staff”. “We have suspended the teacher responsible and an investigation has been launched in the matter. It is true that the students got just plain chappatis and are being forced to eat them with salt because of lack of vegetables. This is a serious lapse”, he added. With inputs from ANI