“The Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter under Section 12(a) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. The participation of children in political campaign activities raises serious concerns, as it violates the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India,” NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo noted.
The NHRC also called on Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to address the issue and issue firm instructions to all political parties, discouraging the use of children in any political activities.“The Commission requests your good office to kindly take urgent corrective measures to address the instant issue and at the same time requests to kindly consider the issuance of firm guidelines to all the Political Parties to refrain from using children in any political activities,” Kanoongo said in his letter to the CEC.
This letter came after Kejriwal and Atishi shared a video showing children chanting, “Abki baar, Kejriwal,” as part of the party’s campaign.The NHRC’s letter comes amid a growing political row between AAP and BJP over alleged voter deletions in Delhi. On Monday, Delhi’s Chief Electoral Office (CEO) revealed that it had received 4.8 lakh applications for new voter registrations and 82,450 for deletions since November 29. The final electoral roll is set to be published on January 6, 2025, after these updates.
The CEO also confirmed FIRs against eight individuals for allegedly submitting false documents to register as voters in the Okhla Assembly constituency. The office stressed that submitting false documents or possessing multiple voter IDs is a punishable offence under the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The AAP has accused the BJP of bulk voter deletions in constituencies they fear losing, while the BJP claims AAP is facilitating illegal voter registrations for Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants. AAP MP Sanjay Singh also alleged that the BJP attempted to remove his wife’s name from the voter list, citing political vendetta. BJP leaders countered that Singh’s wife is a registered voter in Uttar Pradesh, making her Delhi vote “invalid.”
Delhi’s elections are set for February 2025. In the last election, AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats, with BJP securing 8, and Congress failing to win any seats.
Inputs from TOI
