MP school gets steel plates as video of kids having mid-day meal on newspaper draws criticism

A government primary school in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district has been given steel plates after a viral video showed its students having mid-day meal on newspaper, drawing severe criticism, including from Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

BJP leader and former state minister Ramniwas Rawat and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Abhishek Mishra on Saturday joined the students of the school in Hullapur under the Vijaypur block and ate mid-day meal with them.

A video posted on social media showed the school premises spruced up and children enjoying their lunch on brand new stainless steel plates. “Today, our entire team visited the spot and inspected the food. It was found that the meal was properly served on plates. I myself, along with public representatives, also ate the meal there,” Mishra told reporters.

“In the same way, we are monitoring this matter to ensure that no such incident happens again,” he added.

Days after the video of food served on newspapers went viral on Tuesday, the authorities on Friday cancelled the contract of the self-help group responsible for preparing meals and handed over the job to the School Management Committee, the official said. While the school in charge Bhogiram Dhakad has been suspended, notices have been issued to two other staffers, he said. Rahul Gandhi on Saturday shared a video on X of the school children having mid-day meal on newspaper and said the chief minister and the prime minister should be ashamed for nurturing the future of the country in such a pitiable state.

He alleged that the ruling BJP’s “development” is just an illusion and the party's real secret of coming to power is “vyavastha” (the system).

“These are the same innocent children on whose dreams the future of the country rests and they are not even getting a plate of dignity,” Gandhi said in his post in Hindi.

“Such a chief minister and prime minister should feel ashamed for nurturing the future of the country's children in this pitiable state,” the Congress leader added.