Bhubhaneshwar, Mar.15 (ANI): Indian children presented their charter of demands before political parties in Bhubhaneshwar at a programme arranged by NGO's Humara Bachpan and Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), highlighting the amount of negligence and abuse that children are subjected to and urging politicians to spare a thought for children in their election manifestos.
The representatives of campaigns for child rights presented the children manifesto cum charter of demand to the political parties of eastern province of Odisha at a programme. Around 50 children were present on the occasion and the issues concerning them which generally go unnoticed were in the poll agendas were raised at the programme which was followed by a news conference.
The national coordinator 'Hamara Bachpan' Preeti Prada, one of the key members behind the making of the charter said that children are neglected by the political parties as they do not form the vote bank but through the programme they want the political parties in the states to recognise the problems faced by the children.
"Political parties come up with a manifesto, a set of commitments for the youth of the society. But every time you see, the youth are taken into consideration; also other age group of people is taken into consideration because they form the vote bank of the country. Whereas, children are neglected into this whole dimension because they don't contribute to the votes. So, this is a press conference where we want to make the children important. They have issues; they are living in unsafe environment in the slums in the city. They should be taken into consideration," Prada said.
The representatives of NGOs urged politicians in the province to pay heed to the issues like basic education and child rights.
Jasmin, a child living in the Salia Sahi slums of Orissa, said the state government had neglected the rights of children like her in their election manifestos.
"We face a lot of issues. There's no appropriate arrangement for electricity and water supply in our area. The ministers who come in our area for votes should also talk to the children and solve our problems", she said.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) leader Sajjan Sharma representing, Congress leader Pratap Jena, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Nishikant Mohapatra, Kalinga Sena leader Hemant Rath and Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader Madhusudan Yadav were present at the occasion and they promised to give priority to children's demands.
Mohapatra said focusing children's concerns was a positive initiative.
"This is a process of helping the children through interactions with political groups, all the children throughout the country who will become responsible citizens. This is a step in positive direction for them. If the political groups determine to help the children by looking into their demands, it will go into the welfare of the children. And, interactions with the country's political representatives will definitely benefit the children," he said.
The programme was systematized by children's organisation Child Relief and You (CRY). (ANI)
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