BHOPAL: Acting on a complaint against controversial remarks by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh about the RSS's Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has written to the MP DGP to lodge a case in the matter.
Addressing a joint programme of opposition parties in Bhopal recently, Singh had said, "Our fight is against those people who sow the seeds of hatred against other religions, right since childhood among the students at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir. The same seeds of hatred subsequently disturb communal harmony, result in communal acrimony, leading to communal riots." The video of the statement later went viral on social media.
Acting on a complaint by students of Saraswati Shishu Mandir against Singh's controversial remarks, the NCPCR chairperson Dr Priyank Kanungo wrote to the MP DGP Vivek Johri on Monday.
"The alleged remark by Digvijaya Singh seems to be universal in nature and appears to be an attempt to hurt the respect and character of students of all Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools. Prima facie it violates IPC Sections 153A(a)(b), 504 and 505, besides provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015," the NCPCR chairperson wrote to the MP DGP on Monday.
While asking the MP DGP register a case in the matter and submit a report on the investigation along with all relevant factual documents within a week before the commission, the NCPCR chairperson also asked the state police's head not to disclose the identity of the complainant students in the entire matter.
The NCPCR chairperson has also simultaneously written to Digvijaya Singh to furnish to the commission in three days any special factual information (if he feels) about the entire matter to enable it to do a proper probe.
The Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools are run across the country by the RSS's educational wing Vidya Bharti. Meanwhile, Singh's controversial remark about the RSS-run schools has also invited sharp reactions from senior BJP politicians in MP including home minister Narottam Mishra, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and state BJP president VD Sharma.