BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government on Monday claimed that children were being "misused" in anti-Posco agitation and directed Jagatsinghpur district administration to submit a report on it by Tuesday."We will take action against the persons responsible for misusing children. Civil society will never tolerate use of children below 18 years of age in any agitation," Orissa's Women and Child Development minister Anjali Behera told PTI."I have asked the District Social Welfare Officer to give a report on children participating in the anti-Posco agitation by tomorrow," Behera said.The minister said the official was asked to verify whether the children participated in the agitation on their own or were engaged by persons or organisations.Stating that children should not be used in any form of agitation under any circumstances even by their parents, she said, the official was also instructed to verify whether the children sitting on dharna in sun and rain belonged to the Dhinkia gram panchayat or they were hired from somewhere else.The Jagatsinghpur DSWO Kumudini Sahu has gone to Dhinkia to comply with the government order.PPSS president Abhay Sahu on the other hand claimed, "We do not see any harm in children taking part in the agitation. It is wrong to say that children are being misused.""They sit on dharna in the presence of their parents. No one forces them to do so."He also claimed teachers visited the dharna site. 11-year-old Biswajit Sahu, who has been named as the leader of the children's brigade by the anti-project Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) also said, "ultimately we the children will suffer if our fertile land goes to Posco. Therefore children decided to defend their parents. "Did children not take part in the freedom movement?" he asked.
Comments
0 comment