North MCD depriving poor kids of mid-day meals: AAP

New Delhi: Senior AAP and the party's MCD in-charge, Durgesh Pathak on Wednesday accused the BJP-ruled MCDs in the Capital of "robbing" poor children in its schools of their mid-day meal ration just because they are unable to attend online classes for lack of resources.

Pathak said that the MCD administrations were enforcing this rule despite it being public knowledge that as high as 40 to 45 per cent of students do not have the means to attend online classes.

"It is shameful that the BJP will not give mid-day meal ration to poor man's children who failed to attend online classes because their parents can't afford android phones," Pathak said.

Pathak said that his party had pressured the MCDs into restarting the distribution of mid-day meal rations and the distribution order finally was released yesterday. He further said that very poor children study in MCD schools and it is a sin to rob their mid-day meal ration.

"Still, in the past 1.5 years, the BJP managed it and engaged in corruption," Pathak said. He further requested BJP's Adesh Gupta and BJP's Mayor to scrap this unjust rule and distribute the mid-day meal ration to all the children.

Pathak said, "Had you noticed in the past few months, we have requested the BJP many times via press conferences to distribute the mid-day meal ration to children. Moreover, Delhi's Deputy CM himself held a press conference and requested them.

"For the last 1-1.5 years we have been under lockdown and since then the BJP has not distributed the ration to the

children."

The AAP leader added that the fact that the MCDs were quick to now order the ration distribution showed that it was because of indecisiveness or because of a matter pertaining to the distribution of the money that led to the non-distribution of ration to the students since the past 1.5

years.

Criticising the order, Pathak said, "They have taken out a rule that ration will not be provided to the students who are not attending the online classes. So about 3 lakh students study in the North MCD schools.

"As per a report, almost 40-50 per cent of students are unable to attend online classes. Yet the BJP's order reads that the students who didn't attend online classes will not be given this ration."