Rajasthan school roof collapse: As 7 students die, Congress leaders Rahul, Kharge demand probe, strict action

Indian Express

26-07-2025

The Congress has slammed the BJP over the death of seven children in a government school building roof collapse in Rajasthan's Jhalawar, with Rahul Gandhi demanding a probe and strict punishment for the culprits.
A regular morning that saw students assembling for prayers quickly turned into tragedy on Friday when a portion of their government school building collapsed, killing seven children and injuring 27, some of them critically.
The youngest of those who died was only six years old. Minutes into the morning at the Piplodi Government School in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, a part of the middle school building housing Classes 6 and 7 gave way, burying several children.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the death of many innocent children due to the collapse of the roof of a government school in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, is a very painful and shameful incident.
'The government, which cannot repair the roofs of the schools of our children, despite complaints, for the future of the country, shows big dreams of 'Viksit Bharat',' he said.
राजस्थान के झालावाड़ में सरकारी स्कूल की छत गिरने से कई मासूम बच्चों की जान चली जाना बेहद पीड़ादायक और शर्मनाक घटना है। जो सरकार देश के भविष्य, हमारे बच्चों के स्कूलों के लिए, शिकायतों के बावजूद, छत ठीक नहीं करवा सकती, वो 'विकसित भारत' के बड़े-बड़े सपने दिखाती है।
बीते दिन की…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 25, 2025
According to a news report from the previous day, water in a school run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was so much that the teachers themselves had to take the nursery children to a safe place, he said.
Today, the news has come that the building of a school in Jodhpur has become so dilapidated that the children are forced to study under a neem tree, he said.
'The BJP, which boasts a lot about development, has ruined the country. Bridge collapses, train accidents, cracks in newly built roads, statues of great personalities getting damaged after inauguration – all these have become common,' he alleged.
'The attention of the BJP is focused on only one thing – hunger for power!' Kharge said.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also lashed out at the BJP over the incident.
'It is extremely saddening and worrying that several innocent children died and many others were injured when the roof of a government school collapsed in Jhalawar, Rajasthan,' he said on X.
राजस्थान के झालावाड़ में सरकारी स्कूल की छत गिरने से कई मासूम बच्चों की मौत और कई अन्य का घायल होना बेहद दुखद और चिंताजनक है।
मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के मुताबिक, जर्जर स्कूलों की शिकायतों को सरकार ने अनदेखा किया, जिसके कारण इन मासूमों की जान गई है। इनमें से अधिकांश बच्चे बहुजन समाज के…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 25, 2025
'According to media reports, the government ignored the complaints about dilapidated schools, due to which these innocent children lost their lives. Most of these children belonged to the Bahujan Samaj – do their lives have no value for the BJP government?' Gandhi said.
'There should be an impartial investigation of this incident and the culprits should be given the strictest punishment,' he asserted.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the news of the death of several innocent children and injuries to many due to the collapse of the roof of a school in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, is extremely saddening.
'According to reports, serious negligence regarding the dilapidated building took the lives of the innocent children. The matter should be investigated immediately, and strict action should be taken against the culprits,' she said.
Slabs of concrete, bricks and stones were piled up high, and scores of people, including frantic parents and teachers, helped in the rescue effort, searching through the mounds of debris to pull out the children.