Popular scholar Garikipati Narasimha Rao is trapped in a controversy for speaking ill about the midday meal concept.
Everybody is lambasting him, and the respect he earned over decades now hangs in the balance. Now he has only one way to come out of this issue.
He himself often says that when someone makes a mistake, they should confess it in public, and that is what dharma means.
If he feels that he made a mistake by speaking so meanly about mid day meals and poor students, he should come forward with an apology and stand as a role model. Only then he gets the right to preach morals and values.
If he believes that what he said is correct and that there is nothing wrong with it, then at least he should openly say that he stands by his statement. That too would reflect moral courage and show that he is willing to stand by his strong opinion.
But instead, he seems to be hiding in silence without speaking about the issue. That silence is even more painful for his followers.
If he thinks that remaining silent will make people forget the issue, that is not correct. People do not forget so easily; they will continue to ask about it. So he should close the curtains on this issue, and that is something that is entirely in his hands.
If he wishes to continue as a moral speaker, he should stand by moral principles and become a living example of what he preaches. That is the bottom line.