Politics is not child’s play. But now children seem to be bang in the middle of the latest tug of war between the Congress, NCPCR, and the BJP.
Inside the sprawling Congress headquarters is room number 47. Easy to miss as it doesn’t see too many visitors. But now it’s the centre of attention. It’s the office of Jawahar Bal Manch. The organisation was set up as an affiliate of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) with the “objective of providing and ensuring holistic learning and developmental environment to those who belong to the age group of 7 to 18. It owes its vision to the ideals of Jawaharlal Nehru”.
But as pictures of Rahul Gandhi meeting and taking selfies with children during the Bharat Jodo Yatra came up, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued a notice to both the Congress and the manch, accusing them of using children as political tools.
The fact is that earlier this year the organisation incharge, KC Venugopal, did write to the state units to expand the activities of the manch at the national level. Sources said this was also a part of the plan of the Congress to “catch them young” and to counter the RSS style of politics, which feeds the BJP. But this is what the NCPCR is objecting to. In a letter to the Election Commission of India, NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanoongo said that the branch is acting like a political arm of the Congress party. He wrote, “As per Article 324 of Constitution of India and Section 29A of Representation of People Act, 1951, membership of a party shall be open only for adult citizens”. This letter drags in Rahul Gandhi and holds him as accountable as his party.
All these allegations have been rejected by the chairman of the manch, GV Hari. “In the present scenario, anyone above 18 years can contest. But this is an organisation for children, for their welfare, for their personality development. We are doing what the Constitution says, nothing other than what’s allowed. We tell them about socialism, we tell them about democracy and secularism,” he said.
According to GV Hari, even the RSS has a children’s wing called Bal Gokulam in Kerala. “Manch is an affiliate of the Congress party, yes. To that extent it’s political,” he said.
Interestingly, Kerala MP Ramya Haridas is a product of the Jawahar Bal Manch unit of the state. And this is what the Congress hopes to work upon. It feels that in states, especially where it is weak, it can tap into the youth and children and make them join the manch and eventually use them for political roles. This is also in sync with Rahul Gandhi’s plan that the party has to get younger and generational change must take place. Since the endeavour to do so has faced resistance from many seniors, some of whom are now in the so-called G-23 group of dissenters, activating the Jawahar Bal Manch is an option being looked at.
GV Hari also rejects the idea that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is “playing with children”. “There was a painting competition, and some of the participating children wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi. What’s wrong with that?” he said.
The NCPCR and the BJP disagree. The Congress has dismissed the NCPCR’s objections as being playing to the bidding of the central government. Sources say that, in an extreme case, if the EC finds the manch to be indeed violating the rules of the Representation of People Act, it may lead to it being dismembered from the party from any further political role. For now, it’s an open game between the two sides.
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