NEW DELHI: The national human rights commission (NHRC) on Monday directed social media platform X to remove a post by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, and Delhi CM Atishi that featured children participating in political campaign activities.
In a letter, the NHRC said that it had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter, expressing concerns over the involvement of children in political campaigns. The commission added that such participation violates guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“The Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter under Section 12(a) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. 4. 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 urged 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 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.
The letter came following a video shared by Kejriwal and Atishi, showing children chanting, “Abki baar, Kejriwal,” as part of the party’s campaign.
The letters by the NHRC comes amidst a political row between the AAP and BJP over alleged voter deletions in Delhi continues to escalate. on Monday Delhi’s the chief electoral office (CEO) revealed receiving 4.8 lakh applications for new voter registrations and 82,450 for deletions since November 29. The final electoral roll is set for publication on January 6, 2025, following updates.
The CEO confirmed FIRs against eight individuals for allegedly submitting false documents to register as voters in the Okhla Assembly constituency. The office emphasised that submitting false documents or possessing multiple voter IDs is a punishable offence under the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The AAP 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 alleged BJP attempts to remove his wife’s name from the voter list, citing political vendetta. BJP leaders, however, countered that Singh’s wife is a registered voter in Uttar Pradesh, making her Delhi vote “invalid.”
The elections in Delhi are poised for Februray 2025. In the last election, AAP secured 62 out of the 70 seats, with the BJP winning 8 and the Congress failing to win a single constituency.