New Delhi, Aug. 14: The RJD today castigated the state government in the Lok Sabha for the Chhapra midday meal tragedy and demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

Prabhunath Singh, the newly elected RJD MP from Maharajganj, raised the issue during the question hour and alleged that the tragedy occurred because of the failure of the state government in implementing the midday meal scheme properly.

Hitting out at the JD(U) for blaming the Opposition for the incident, he alleged the chief minister, education minister P.K. Shahi and the district magistrate (DM) of Saran should be held responsible for the death of 23 children.

“The chief minister has charged the Opposition for the tragedy… A CBI probe should be ordered into the incident… In my view, the chief minister, the education minister and the DM of Saran are responsible for the deaths,” Singh said amid protest from the JD(U) MPs.

BJP MP Uday Singh also raised the issue through a special mention during the zero hour. He refrained from slamming the state government directly, but said failure of proper implementation of the scheme led to the tragic incident.