The biggest right of children is their childhood, and nothing that harms it should be allowed to happen, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was delivering the Children’s Day message at the Children’s Day celebrations organised by the State government and the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare here on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said children should grow up happy and any situation that caused them mental stress should be avoided. Parents, teachers, neighbours, and the public had the responsibility to ensure this.
Studies, he said, were a significant cause of mental stress among children. Parents should make suer not to put too much pressure on children in the name of studies, but more than that it was the responsibility of schools and teachers to ensure that studies did not become a burden.
He said many untoward incidents in connection with children were being reported. The State government had taken careful steps in this regard, he said. A committee headed by the Chief Secretary had been set up to review if cases of atrocities against children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were not heading in the right direction, Mr. Vijayan said.
Minister for Women and Child Development K.K. Shylaja called on everyone to work for a democratic society that did not commit atrocities against children.
Stamp, CD released
The Chief Minister released the Children’s Day stamp, drawn by Carmel Girls High School student Aleena A.P. He also released the CD of a short film produced by the Kerala State Film development Corporation on the ‘’Karuthal Sparsham Kaikorkkam Kuttikalkkayi’ project of the State government for a safe childhood.
Children’s president Thameem Ihsan, who presided over the function, said pluralism was the hallmark of the country but attempts were under way to divide it. Communalism and mob lynchings were on the rise. It was mostly women and children who bore the brunt of this. The children’s prime minister, Amrithasree V. Pillai, called on people to think about creating a child-friendly society. Only if one raised voice against injustice could we realise the country that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had dreamt of.
V.K. Prasanth, MLA, child welfare council general secretary Deepak S.P., children’s speaker Rosna Joseph, and other children’s representatives M.V. Liyos, Nanma S., Aleena, and Akshit K. Ajith were present.
