The Election Commission of India has taken seriously the matter of the use of a child in the election campaign video by the BJP unit of Haryana. The Election Commission says that this is a gross violation of the rules of the Election Commission. For this, a show cause notice has been issued to the state president of BJP Haryana and a reply has been sought within a day.
The Election Commission has issued a notice to the state president of BJP amidst the Haryana assembly elections. The matter is about the use of a child in the video during the election campaign. According to the Election Commission, this is a gross violation of the guidelines of the Election Commission. The Chairman of the Haryana Election Commission took immediate action in the matter and issued a notice to the state president and Haryana BJP and directed them to respond in the matter by 6 pm on August 29.
What’s the matter?
On August 27, Haryana BJP posted a video related to election campaign on social media platform X. In this video, a child is raising the slogan of this time Saini government in Haryana. The child says- This time Saini government in Haryana, Jai Hind… After this, Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini is seen laughing and joking with the children. The video continues like this. The video is 36 seconds long. The caption of the video reads- This is the call of every child, this time Naib government.
What are the EC rules on the use of children in election campaigns?
There are strict rules regarding the use of children during election campaigns. Take a look:
• As per the Election Commission’s directions under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, political parties are strictly prohibited from involving children in any election-related activities like holding rallies, raising slogans or distributing posters.
• Politicians and candidates are not allowed to use children in any form of campaign activities, including carrying a child in their arms, carrying them in a vehicle, or including them at rallies.
• The use of children for any political campaign through poems, songs, spoken word or political symbols is strictly prohibited.
• Promoting the achievements of a political party or criticising its opponents through children is also prohibited.
• However, if a child is accompanied by his/her parent or guardian to a political leader and is not involved in any campaign activity, it will not be considered a violation of the guidelines.
It is worth noting that earlier this month, the Election Commission had announced elections for Haryana which has 90 assembly seats. Voting will be held here on October 1 and the results will be declared on October 4.