Mysuru: With the Congress-led State Government withdrawing financial aid and mid-day meal facilities to Sri Rama Vidya Kendra and Sri Devi Vidya Kendra located at Kalladka in Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada, school trustee Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat has been visiting various places in the State. He has been collecting donations to run the school as well as provide mid-day meals for around 3,400 students studying in both the institutions.

In an effort to join the other donors, various institutions in Mysuru including Let’s do It Mysore!, Safe Wheels, Alliance Square, Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association handed over 13,875 kg rice (555 rice bags of 25kg each) to Prabhakar Bhat in front of Palace North Gate, this morning.

On receiving the rice bags, Prabhakar Bhat said that Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, who claims to be a champion of backward communities and minorities, had deprived 94 per cent of the schools’ children their right for mid-day meals. The children come from poor backgrounds and hail from the dalit, adivasi and backward castes, he said.

“Ever since the State Government withdrew benefits to the institutions, I have launched a campaign ‘Bhikshandehi’ to collect foodgrains as it was better to collect from the people instead of begging the State Government which had discriminatory and unfair attitude towards the institutions”, he added.

He also said that the schools were building nationalist ideology among students and not communal or casteist ideologies as accused by a few sections of the society.

Former Minister S.A. Ramdas, Mysuru Travels Association President B.S Prashanth, Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, Mysuru Travels Association’s former President C.A. Jayakumar and others were present.

‘I don’t know Gauri Lankesh’

Reacting to questions on the recent killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, Prabhakar Bhat said he had no idea about Gauri Lankesh or her father Lankesh and added that he had never seen the paper published by them. “RSS never supports violence. Instead, it has always promoted building a stronger nation. People, who are unable to digest the good work done by the RSS have indulged in false propaganda,” he said and added that freedom of speech and expression must not be misused to curb one’s rights and defame others.