<i>Children being used illegally to woo votes</i>
Children take part in the campaign for a candidate in the municipal election at Kalapara in Patuakhali district. They are employed for the task for money, defying ban on involving kids in such an act. The photo was taken from Sadar Road on Friday.Photo: STAR
Children are allegedly being used in election campaign in Kalapara municipality of Patuakhali district. Four tender aged children were seen distributing leaflets for a candidate among the voters at Monoharpatti in the upazila town on Friday. Asked how they were engaged in this work, Roni, 9, one of the four, said each of them were getting Tk 40 to 50 every day for the job. They were distributing leaflets wooing votes for Nurul Haque Munshi, an independent candidate in Kalapara municipal polls. He is one of the three mayoral candidates in Kalapara municipality. Munshi said, “They (children) may be getting involved spontaneously. I did not engage them in such activities”. Returning Officer Md Liakot Ali, also UNO of Kalapara upazila, said nobody complained in this regard. He did not find such things happening during the drive conducted against violation of the code of conduct. “Action will be taken, if anyone found employing children in such unlawful activities”, the UNO said. Meanwhile, different child rights groups had strongly lobbied for banning use of children in poll campaign during electoral reforms by the last caretaker government.
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