NEW DELHI: The AAP on Friday launched a social media campaign, called ‘Manish Chacha’, by posting messages, purportedly penned by the school children, seeking early release of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by the CBI in the liquor scam.
AAP leaders, including MP Raghav Chada, state ministers and other top functionaries, tweeted messages, purportedly written by children studying in Delhi government schools in favour of Sisodia.“Children’s love for their Manish Chacha is growing all over Delhi, BJP people, no matter how many false allegations you make, the love of Delhi children for Manish Sisodia cannot be shaken,” AAP MLA Atishi tweeted.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal retweeted these posts. The tweets put out by AAP leaders contained pictures of children, besides the messages. More than 20,000 letters to Sisodia were collected on the first day itself at a special desk that was set up in less than two hours, said a party leader, adding that thousands of school students come in his support.The BJP was quick to take up the matter and attacked AAP for “exploiting children for political gains”.
The AAP denied the allegations and claimed parents came forward to set up special ‘I love Manish Sisodia’ desks outside schools to help children send their messages to Sisodia.“There is no involvement of any government department or government staff in any such activity,” said a party leader.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the objection was registered by the BJP on Thursday night on this ‘I love Manish Sisodia’ campaign, but even after that the AAP misused children in political activities.“It is very sad that the proposed minister of the Delhi government Atishi and AAP leader Jasmine Shah etc have defied the law by tweeting pictures of children,” he added.
Meanwhile, the child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Friday took note of the use of children’s pictures for “political benefits” and wrote a letter to Delhi Police asking for an inquiry against Chadha and Atishi for allegedly posting a “picture of minors” on Twitter in “furtherance of political agenda”.
NCPCR takes note
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights took note of the use of children’s pictures for ‘political benefits’ and wrote a letter to Delhi Police asking for an inquiry against AAP MP Raghav Chadha and MLA Atishi for allegedly posting a “picture of minors” on Twitter in “furtherance of political agenda”.