TN students refuse food cooked by Dalit, eat after Kanimozhi’s intervention

Chennai, Sep 12( IANS) Students of a government primary school in Usulampetti in Tamil Nadus Thoothukudi, who had refused to consume breakfast cooked by a Dalit, on Tuesday consumed it after DMK leader Kanimozhis intervention into the issue.

They had refused to consume the free breakfast under the state government scheme as the food was cooked by a Dalit woman.

The Dalit woman, identified as Muniyaselvi, was a member of a Self help group.

After officials found excess food material in the school, they questioned the cook about it, who told them that nine out of 11 students didnt consume breakfast.

She told the officials that while children were willing to eat, the parents had asked them not to do so.

Muniyaselvi told media persons that she had not raised a complaint in the matter but when the monitoring officials questioned about the excess food material, she revealed about the matter.

When Kanimozhi, the Thoothukudi MP, came to know about the matter, she rushed to the school along with minister Geetha Jeevan and Thoothukudi district collector Senthil Raj.

The MP insisted that she will eat with the children after which all students ate the breakfast along with her.

aal/svn