Candidate goes for nomination with kids, violates code

Chennai

The children were dressed up like Tamil poet Bharathiyar. The incident raised the hackles of child rights activists. Officials in the State Labour Department and Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights have assured of action against the candidate after enquiry.

Sources say the children were very uncomfortable with the mercury a notch higher on Friday. Although some children wanted to get off the bullock carts to escape the heat, their attempts failed since no one was at hand to provide them relief. Mylai Sathya admitted that he took the  children along with him to file his nomination papers. He said, “Parents themselves brought their children dressed in Bharathiyar’s attire. I decided to take them on bullock carts.”

Asked why he violated EC norms, the candidate said he couldn’t stop children from coming along with him. He claimed he was unaware of the Commission’s norms. Meanwhile, child rights activists Dr AD Revathy and T Jayanthi Ranee, members of Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR) protested Sathya’s conduct. Speaking to DTNext , they said they would take action against the candidate. “We will verify the veracity of the incident and necessary action will be taken,” they said, warning no candidate should rope in children for any kind of election work.

An official from Labour Department assured it would look into the issue. “Stern action will be taken against anyone roping in children for campaign work,” the official said.