Hats off to politicians! The House was adjourned thrice after there was a heated “blame game loud verbal argument” that took place between the Government and the Opposition regarding the mid-day meal tragedy. Is this a political conspiracy? This was the hidden underlying question that rang out in the verbal joust!
Verbal spat in Bihar Assembly
A loud verbal spat took place in the Bihar Assembly as the members carried out a heated discussion on the recent mid-day meal catastrophe. The Government retaliated by saying there was a conspiracy angle in this special kind of politics that shrouded the sad incident.
Education Minister P.K. Shahi, “not so obviously” pointed out the finger towards the Rashtriya Janata Dal and stated that Arjun Rai, the school principal’s husband had purchased Monocrotophos, that was discovered in the meal. Arjun had presumably got Monocrotophos, two days before the incident had taken place and this was found in the mid-day meal.
Mr. Shahi replied to the collected people House by saying “He is an influential political personality in the area. On July 14, he bought 250 ml of Monocrotophos from the Sidholia sugar mill for his brother Dhruv Rai. The purchase receipt even has his signature on it. Just one ml of the chemical is enough to kill 1,000 rats. The poison was mixed in the food as a result of a conspiracy. The next day Chapra was on the boil and the police was not allowed to reach the site.”
Probe ordered into Bihar mid-day meal tragedy
RJD MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui, wanted a discussion on this and has also asked for a CBI probe in the mid-day meal incident. The House experienced three adjournments and ended up with the RJD and Bharatiya Janata Party walking out in anger.
Reports say that the sources claimed “Why would he [Mr. Rai] buy it from a nearby mill and sign it if he had any mala fide intentions? This is not foul play. This only makes sure this is a case of human error. It is clear that Monocrotophos came from the principal’s house. Since it is poisonous it is always kept outside in the courtyard. The mid-day meal provisions were also kept there. It is entirely possible that the food was cooked in the pesticide, which was mistaken for mustard oil. Both have the same colour and Monocrotophos does not have a foul smell. They resemble each other to a great extent.”
Manjeet Kumar Singh from The JD(U) got agitated and created a panic situation in the House insisting that the poison was from Gujarat. Nand Kishore Yadav, Leader of the Opposition stated that the Chapra calamity was not an unexpected incident. Other similar incidents have also been reported.
Is it the BJP’s fault for this pitiful state of health affairs in the State? Mr. Shahi, Education Minister, said “the strictest action would be taken against the culprits.”
