Embarrassed Nitish govt takes U-turn on mid-day meal tragedy

Patna,(BiharTimes): More than three months after state Education Minister Prashant Kumar Shahi publicly claimed that the mid-day meal tragedy in Saran district was a political conspiracy hatched by opposition parties Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that he had not said any such thing after the death of 23 children on July 16 last.

Replying to the media query on the police chargesheet which did not make any mention of the political conspiracy the chief minister said he did not say any such thing.

“Please don’t put words in my mouth, I never called it a political conspiracy, it’s the job of police to investigate,” he was quoted by Headlines Today-Aaj Tak channel as saying.

However, it is a fact that Shahi publicly blamed the opposition hours after the tragedy and even his boss later endorsed his view.

Meanwhile, BJP strongly criticized for what it said the U-turn of the chief minister.

“It’s shocking the way Nitish and Shahi blamed the opposition without any evidence. There is no mention of any political conspiracy in the chargesheet filed. It shows Nitish Kumar’s desperation,” state party chief Mangal Pandey said.

The police chargesheet has come as a big embarrassment for Nitish Kumar whose government tried to shift the blame of the entire incident to the opposition.