The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to start an inquiry against the alleged misuse of children as political tool in the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, reported PTI.
The child rights body said it has received a complaint which alleged that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and non-government organisation Jawahar Bal Manch are targeting children with political intentions and getting them involved in political activities.
The Jawahar Bal Manch is associated with the Congress and aims to work on the development of children in the age group of seven years to 18 years.
The Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is a 3,570-kilometre-long nationwide tour that will cover 12 states and two Union Territories in about five months.
The party has described the march as its biggest mass contact exercise since independence and a “turning point” in India’s political history ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The march was launched from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 8 and is in Kerala presently.
On Tuesday, the child rights body said that it has been alleged that “many disturbing images and videos” on social media show that children are made to participate in Congress’ campaign with a political agenda.
The body further alleged that this is a violation of the Election Commission’s rule which says that only adults can be part of a political party, according to PTI.
“Further, use of children as props to fulfil political agenda is child abuse which can have a severe long term impact on their mental health and is against is Article 21 of the Indian Constitution,” the body told the Election Commission.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is an independent statutory body that was created in 2007 to ensure that India’s child protection laws are implemented effectively. It is specifically tasked with looking into the rights of children.
Its chairperson, Priyank Kanoongo, is a former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing. He quit the Hindutva outfit in 2015 to be appointed as a member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. In 2018, he was made the chairperson of the body.
In February, Scroll.in has reported how under Kanoongo, the child protection body has been transformed from an organisation “that advocates for the rights of children to one that selectively uses it to pursue Hindutva causes and target religious minorities, as well as independent groups are seen to oppose the supremacist ideology”.
The Commission has repeatedly taken up cases on the basis of complaints made by Hindutva groups, and reports on propaganda websites.
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