'Misuing children as political tools': Child rights body seeks action against Rahul Gandhi
India Today
The child rights body has written a letter to the Election Commission seeking action against the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for involving children in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Tuesday asked the Election Commission to initiate action against the Congress and MP Rahul Gandhi for allegedly "misusing children as political tools" during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The apex child rights body also urged the poll body to initiate an inquiry into a complaint filed against the Congress leader. The commission said that it received a complaint which alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Jawahar Bal Manch are "targeting children with political intentions and getting them involved in political activities."
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"Many disturbing images and videos have been circulating on social media wherein it can be seen that children are being targeted and are made to participate in their campaign with a political agenda under the slogan Bharat Jodo, Bacche Jodo," the NCPCR said in a statement.
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The NCPCR added that this is a violation of Election Commission rules which specify that only adults can be part of a political party.
"There is a prima-facie violation of child rights. Further, the use of children as props to fulfil a political agenda is child abuse, which can have a severe long-term impact on their mental health and is against Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The commission thereby requests your good offices to look into the matter and have a thorough inquiry of the events and take necessary action against the political party and its members who have been mentioned in the complaint,” it said in its letter to the EC.
