Don’t engage schoolchildren for MGR centenary event, says HC

Thousands of them would be put to inconvenience and harm, says petitioner

Madurai,Tamil Nadu, 27/06/2017: Students participating in MGR Birth day centenary and Yoga celebration at Madurai Kamaraj University front of a section of Tamilnadu State Ministers.photo: S.Krishnamoorthy

The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted an interim injunction against the State government and the school education authorities from bringing schoolchildren to attend MGR centenary public meetings.

A vacation bench comprising Justices S. Vaidyanathan and R. Subramanian passed the interim order on a public interest litigation filed by A. Narayanan, a social activist, who sought a direction to the authorities to prepare guidelines to be followed by the school education department, the police department and school managements whenever children were made to participate in public functions, rallies and campaigns held at venues outside schools.

‘Grand celebrations’

In his PIL, Mr. Narayanan said the ruling party had been celebrating the centenary year of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran in a grand manner over a period of six months. Public meetings had been planned in all the districts. A large budget of more than ₹60 crore was reportedly sanctioned for the same. The celebrations were kick-started by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on June 30.

The petitioner alleged that thousands of children from government, government aided and unaided schools were forced to attend the public meetings and greet the Chief Minister and other political leaders en route as well as at the venue.

The children were also utilised to shower petals on leaders.

They were forced to come to the venue very early during school days as well as on weekends to fill the thousands of empty chairs at the venue to showcase large participation and to declare the functions a ‘grand success’.

A grand public meeting is scheduled for Saturday at Salem and there was every likelihood that thousands of innocent children would be put to a lot of avoidable inconvenience and harm by bringing them to the venue in buses, merely to satisfy the ego and whims and fancies of the rulers, he said.

“In such grand political meetings being held in the guise of government functions, especially in the present surcharged political environment, thousands of party functionaries will be participating and a large number of them are likely to be in inebriated condition. The schoolchildren, especially girls, may silently suffer harassment,” said the petitioner.

Counter plea

Meanwhile, in counter petition filed by deputy secretary of school education department P. Sekar, the government submitted that there was no direct connection between the schoolchildren and any political programme.

“The celebration of the centenary year of former Chief Minister MGR is not a political programme.”

It submitted that the schoolchildren were not forced to attend public meetings or to greet Chief Minister and other political leaders. “They are willing to participate in the function. Dr.Kannan Girish, a trained master who is chief executive officer of Live Life Education, is taking motivational classes for the children and have attended earlier programme conducted by government. Such programmes are useful for the growth of children and their improvement,” said the affidavit.

The department stated that steps have been taken to ensure the saftey of children during the event.