Chennai: The involvement of TVK members in election campaigning using children reflects a cheap political motive and poor taste. It also shows the parents’ poor upbringing, the High Court observed. However, it has ruled that in the present circumstances, this cannot be considered a reason to cancel the election victory, and that the matter should be discussed in detail in Parliament and a decision taken accordingly.
DMK candidate Rajendran had filed an election petition in the High Court seeking a declaration that the election victory of TVK MLA Sivakumar from the Salem North constituency was invalid. In it, he had sought a declaration that Sivakumar’s victory was invalid because it was illegal for Chief Minister Vijay to involve children in election campaigning and, through them, ask the adults at home to vote for him.
Sivakumar had filed a petition seeking dismissal of this case. After hearing it, Justice T. Bharath Chakravarthy issued the following order dismissing the election petition:
In the recently concluded Legislative Assembly election, TVK leader and Chief Minister Vijay, while speaking at a meeting held in Chennai on April 21, was accused of indirectly pressuring children to stubbornly and forcefully insist that their parents and family members vote for TVK, thereby securing victory.
Whether children’s influence within the family played an important role in the political election is a matter of debate. Just as parents influence their children, children also influence adults. This is a reality in practice in India, especially in Tamil Nadu.
We have an attitude of regarding children as reincarnations of gods and ancestors. Therefore, children’s words are given importance. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Murugan taught the Pranava mantra to Lord Shiva at a very young age. Likewise, stories of Avvai being taught wisdom are also popular among us. Although it is argued that children have a certain influence on their parents’ decisions, in this case, it must be considered whether the party leader’s involvement in campaigning through children, asking the elders in the house to vote for him, and releasing video clips has actually had an impact.
Likewise, if adults make a decision by citing pressure from children, that is merely an expression of their own will; it cannot be regarded as an act that overrides their free will or rights. Even if the allegations stated in this election case are assumed to be true, they cannot be considered a corrupt practice.
At most, it can only be seen as an attempt to persuade the adults in the household to agree to vote for that party and candidate; it cannot be regarded as an act of children exerting dominance.
At the same time, the children do not have mobile phones or the ability to create video clips. It was the adults in the house who used the children to spread such videos among the public. Involving children in such acts is disgusting, driven by cheap political motives, lacking in taste, and it also reveals the bad, irresponsible nature of young people who are obsessed with their parents and a political party.
The nation and Parliament should hold a broad debate on the use of children in election campaigning and decide whether such activities should be prohibited or whether they can be considered a reason to invalidate an election victory. This is because such grounds would not be sufficient, under the Representation of the People Act, to declare an election invalid.
In this case, the judge has ruled that, based only on the alleged act of Chief Minister Vijay making an appeal to children and the subsequent alleged acts of children pressuring their parents, it cannot be said that voters’ right to make a free choice was taken away, and has therefore dismissed this election petition.