Aam Aadmi Party leaders reached a new political low as they have begun exploiting small children as props to gain sympathy, days after Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case.
On March 3, Friday, Party MLA Atishi Marlena, a key member of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s education team who is set to succeed the latter in the Delhi cabinet, took to Twitter to share multiple images of toddlers holding handwritten cards pleading with Manish Sisodia to return soon.
The AAP leader captioned one of her tweets in Hindi, ‘BJP People: No matter how many false accusations you make, but the love that the children of Delhi have for @msisodia, you cannot shake.’
भाजपा वालों: तुम कितने भी झूठे इलज़ाम लगा लो, पर जो दिल्ली के बच्चों का @msisodia के लिए प्यार है, उसे तुम हिला नहीं सकते हो pic.twitter.com/a7eXShIVdV
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) March 3, 2023
Likewise, several other AAP members engaged in similar antics in a bid to garner sympathy from the masses and put unnecessary pressure on authorities who have taken action against their party leaders over corruption charges based on evidence.
तुम एक मनीष सिसोदिया को रोकोगे तो दिल्ली के स्कूलों से 18 लाख मनीष सिसोदिया निकलेंगे
— 🇮🇳 Rajender Thakur (@RajenderThakurG) March 3, 2023
एड़ी-छोटी का ज़ोर लगा लो, चाहे जितने तोता-मैना उड़ा लो शिक्षा क्रांति तो नहीं रुकने वाली #ILoveManishSisodia#ManishSisodia pic.twitter.com/CQWmrIY3zQ
एक नन्ही छात्रा का मोदी सरकार से सवाल-
— Tarishi Sharma (@tarishi_sharma) March 3, 2023
“आपने मनीष सर को जेल क्यों डाला? ये तो ग़लत है।” pic.twitter.com/0Ikt17oTD8
“People of the society have put up I Love Manish Sisodia desks outside many schools in Delhi today. On which the children of Delhi are standing with their Education Minister in this bad time. And showing their love and respect through letters,” tweeted Shailesh, who identifies himself as a member of Education Task Force, Delhi Govt.
समाज के लोगों ने आज दिल्ली में बहुत से स्कूलों के बाहर I Love Manish Sisodia डेस्क लगाई है।
— Shailesh (@24shailesh) March 3, 2023
जिस पर दिल्ली के बच्चे इस बुरे समय में अपने शिक्षामंत्री के साथ खड़े है। और लेटर के माध्यम से अपना प्यार और सम्मान दिखा रहे हैं।#ILoveManishSisodia pic.twitter.com/5htJDLzEix
Capitalising on the emotional appeal that characterises young and innocent children, AAP leader Sarita Singh went so far as to upload a video wherein numerous young schoolchildren are seen sitting on chairs holding pieces of paper with some message scribbled on them. Behind them is a large banner that reads, “I Love Manish Sisodia.” As seen in the video, a lady in the background instructs the youngsters to repeat after her-“Convey our feelings to Manish sir.”
It’s evident from the video that the ignorant children have no clue and they are just innocently repeating what they are being asked to say.
हमारी भावनाएं @msisodia सर तक पहुंचा देना।#IStandWithManishSisodia #ILoveManishSisodia pic.twitter.com/ikfIglmnW1
— Sarita Singh (@AapsaritaSingh) March 3, 2023
AAP regularly exploits children for political goals
This is not the first time, though, that the Aam Aadmi Party has resorted to such theatrics. When it comes to exploiting young and innocent children for political gain, the AAP deserves special mention. It may be recalled that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought votes in the name of children, asking parents to choose between their children and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In January 2022, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) demanded strict action against the AAP’s CM face of Uttarakhand Col Ajay Kothiyal for misusing minor children in political campaigns.
Again in June 2022, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had written to the Delhi Police to file an FIR, over minors being used in the campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Durgesh Pathak for Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar assembly bypoll.
Notably, employing naive and gullible children is a new tool that opposition parties and the left-wing brigade have been employing to peddle falsehoods and achieve their malicious goals of fomenting unrest. By roping in youngsters, these protesters hope to capitalise on their innocence and simplicity in order to get attention and sympathy. Since this is getting more regular, it’s disheartening to see how these people see nothing wrong with manipulating gullible and impressionable children to peddle their lies.
From ‘farmer’ protest to Shaheen Bagh, Rahul Gandhi to Priyanka Gandhi, how kids have been used for propaganda
The farmers’ protest against the now-repealed three-farm laws in 2021 had seen children being used as props by the demonstrators to lend credence to their agitation and hustle the government into acceding to their demands. Young children, with no knowledge or understanding of the new Farm Laws, are tutored to speak against the Centre to pressurize them into repealing them.
In fact, several videos had emerged wherein children were seen reciting powerful poetry to motivate farmers while waging a war against the ‘three black laws’ and the ‘bikau media’. The Congress party, which has been vociferously supporting the agitating farmers and peddling lies and misinformation against the new agricultural laws to berate the Modi government, shared the video.
Earlier, the children of the actor-singer Gippy Grewal are seen exhorting people to extend their support to farmers and join the protests in solidarity with them.
Even during the anti-CAA protests, young and pliable children were used as props by the protesters to garner sympathy from the masses and pressurise the government into repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act. People have not forgotten how a 4-month-old infant, Mohammad Jahan, was taken to the protest site at Shaheen Bagh almost every day to solicit support for the anti-CAA protests.
In the run-up to the 2019 General Assembly elections, a video emerged in which young and guileless children were seen chanting “Chowkidar Chor Hai” as Priyanka Gandhi watched on in amusement. Gandhi had no qualms that young children were being taught to disregard and disrespect the highest chair of the country and peddle unsubstantiated lies and propaganda against PM Modi.
Even Rahul Gandhi shares the blame of using children for peddling his petty propaganda against PM Modi. In an event held in 2020, Rahul Gandhi referred to a 10-year-old during his election rally in Old Delhi to regurgitate the familiar trope that mahaul in the country has deteriorated under PM Modi.
