Aaditya Thackeray in legal soup over children at ‘Save Aarey’ stir: Can minors protest in India?

There’s no relief for the Thackeray family. While Uddhav Thackeray attempts to keep the Shiv Sena together, after Eknath Shinde successfully carried out a rebellion that saw him being made chief minister of Maharashtra, his son, Aaditya Thackeray, is now facing legal troubles over a protest.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), responsible for protecting children’s rights in the country, asked Mumbai Police on Monday to file an FIR against Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray for “using” children during a ‘Save Aarey’ protest over the weekend.

On Sunday, people had gathered at Aarey Colony in Mumbai’s suburban area of Goregaon to protest against the Eknath Shinde-led government’s decision to shift the Metro-III depot back to its original 33-acre plot at green lung of the city.

The junior Thackeray had participated in the protest and shared images through Twitter which showed some children holding placards.

Aarey is a unique forest within our city. Uddhav Thackeray ji declared 808 acres of Aarey as Forest and the car shed must move out. Our human greed and lack of compassion cannot be allowed to destroy biodiversity in our city. pic.twitter.com/YNbS0ryd8d

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 10, 2022

The demand for an FIR came after the NCPCR received a complaint from Dhrutiman Joshi alleging that Aaditya Thackeray used minor children in the protest or political campaigns in so-called ‘Save Aarey’ protest.

NCPCR registrar Anu Chaudhary said that the child rights body had taken cognisance of the matter and was of the view that the children at the protest was in contravention of Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of Children) Act.

The Shiv Sena was quick in its rebuttal and questioned the police action. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed the NCPCR, asking if this was a new form of intimidation to stop citizens from protesting.

What a joke! They were not part of Shiv Sena protests but citizens group. The children wanted to meet Shri @AUThackeray &he was appreciative of their interest in forest conservation!Is this a new form of intimidation to stop citizens from protesting?Is saving forests now a crime? https://t.co/G5iRXg81EK

— Priyanka Chaturvedi