Worms found in mid-day meal | Union minister Shobha Karandlaje slams Karnataka govt

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje on Monday slammed the Karnataka government for the alleged supply of worm-infested rice to schools under the mid-day meal scheme.

"It is shocking that under Congress-ruled Karnataka, the rot has reached the mid-day meal meant for schoolchildren. Feeding worm-infested, substandard rice to poor children is not just negligence. It is a criminal failure. This scheme exists to protect vulnerable children, but the Congress govt has reduced it to a symbol of administrative decay," she posted on X.

"This is not only about food quality. It is about dignity, trust, and the govt’s basic responsibility to safeguard children’s health. If a govt cannot ensure a safe, clean meal for a child, what is governance worth? In their power games, children are being treated as statistics, not lives," she added.

The Union Minister urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Primary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa to immediately intervene and ensure the supply of quality foodgrains to schools under the mid-day meal scheme.

A video widely circulated on social media shows rice infested with dead worms being served to young students at a government school in Koppal district.