E-Paper
EC notice to Kirron Kher for using children in election campaign
The action came after Kher shared an eight-second video on her Twitter handle in which Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu, is seen along with kids shouting ‘Ab Ki Bar Modi Sarkar’.
A day after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi was issued a notice by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for the alleged use of children in election campaigning, BJP candidate from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, found herself in a similar controversy.
On Friday, the Election Commission (EC) put Kirron Kher on notice after she shared an 8-second video on Twitter in which Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu, her close aide, is seen using kids to seek votes for her.
Sidhu, a party councillor from Ward no 1 (Sectors 1-11), has also been issued the notice. Both have been asked to submit their reply within 24 hours, i.e by Saturday.
In the video, the children are seen wearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mask and shouting slogans of “Ab Ki Bar Modi Sarkar” after making an appeal to vote for Kher.
Endorsing the video, Kirron went on to add that “Abhi Subhey Subhay Hi Mahesh Inder Ne Ye Video Bheja Hai. Chandigarh Ke Bache Bache Ko Pata Hai #Aayega To Modi Hi (Mahesh sent me this video today (Friday) morning. Every kid in Chandigarh knows that Modi will return).”
What does the EC notice say?
In the notice, a copy of which is with HT, it is mentioned that the NCPCR, in a January 2017 order, had mentioned that no political party can use children for election campaigning in any form, whether for distribution of posters, pamphlets or to participate in slogan shouting, campaign rallies or election meetings. Based on this letter, the EC issued similar directions. “You have shared a video on your twitter account, which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour,” stated the notice served on Kirron and Sidhu.
CCPCR does not act, writes to EC for action
The Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR), meanwhile, has written to the EC asking it to take action. However, it is yet to take action on its own, on the lines of the NCPCR that had immediately put Priyanka on notice.
CCPCR chairman Harjinder Kaur told HT that the commission will first wait for action from the EC before taking cognizance. Harjinder is an active member of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a party that is in alliance with the BJP in Punjab and Chandigarh. She was recently seen in the local BJP office, along with party leaders, at a a poll meeting.
Second EC notice to local BJP unit
Friday’s notice to Kirron is the second EC notice served on a local BJP unit. Previously, Chandigarh BJP chief Sanjay Tandon and six party councillors had got the EC’s rebuke for holding a poll meeting in government property, two days after the model code of conduct came into force.
