Mangaluru, (The Hindu): Students of Sri Rama Vidya Kendra and Sri Devi Vidya Kendra and their parents protested against the government withdrawing grants to the schools towards midday meals, uniforms and textbooks through Kollur Mookambika Temple, in Bantwal taluk on Friday.

The two government-aided private schools are managed by the RSS-backed Sri Rama Vidyakendra Trust. The government had granted ?2.83 crore to the schools from 2007-08 to 2016-17.

Nearly 4,000 students and parents from the two schools participated in the protest in front of the Bantwal Taluk Office on B.C. Road. The students raised empty steel plates and bowls and shouted slogans against the government. Terming the action of the State government regressive, Rohit, a student from Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, said he was among the many students from poor families who benefited from the grant. “It is with this money that we are getting a sumptuous meal once a day. If the Chief Minister would have visited our school, the government would not have passed the order,” he said.

Many parents said there are several students from minorities and backward classes in the two schools. The grant of the temple has been beneficial to them. The State should allow the temple to continue the grant, the parents said. Earlier, accusing district in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of ‘hate politics’, RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat said he would approach people for funds to cover the loss of grant from the temple.