Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 15 : BRS Working President K Taraka Rama Rao has expressed deep anguish over the recurring alleged "food poisoning" incidents and student deaths in Telangana's Gurukula (residential) educational institutions, a release said.
He strongly criticized the government, stating that over the past year, more than a thousand food poisoning cases have been reported, affecting thousands of students and leading to the tragic deaths of over 100 students -- all due to the criminal negligence of the state government, it added.
KTR demanded that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy take full responsibility for the food poisoning and student deaths in these institutions. Despite these heartbreaking incidents, neither the state government nor Education Minister Revanth Reddy has conducted even a single review, which KTR termed as a glaring example of their inhuman and authoritarian rule, the release stated.
"If such incidents happen once or twice, they may be considered accidental," KTR said. "But when over a thousand incidents occur and children are falling like birds, the government is still in deep slumber," as per the release.
The release further said that KTR appealed to Revanth Reddy to at least think like a father, if not as a Chief Minister. "If the government were to serve poison instead of food to your own children, would you remain silent?" he asked. "If Revanth Reddy's own children were living in such dangerous and horrifying conditions, would he still turn a blind eye or would he act?"
KTR, urged Revanth Reddy to immediately take this issue seriously. He recalled that the Chief Minister had once asked "who should be held responsible for student deaths, who should be hanged?" -- and now, KTR demanded an answer to that same question from Revanth Reddy himself, as per the release.
He pointed out that BRS had repeatedly brought the issue of food poisoning and student deaths to the government's attention. Yet, every time the issue was raised, ministers resorted to superficial actions and diversionary tactics, the release added.
While students were dying from poisoned food, the government tried to politicize the matter and downplay the seriousness of the situation, KTR said in harsh criticism,as per the release.
He concluded by demanding that the state government immediately wake up from its indifference and take firm action to stop the horrors happening in Gurukul hostels. Otherwise, he warned, the BRS will continue its struggle on behalf of the people,it added.