Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
Haryana Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar on Friday, 2 February, visited the GD Goenka World School in Gurugram’s Bhondsi to interact with students and teachers who were present in the bus that was attacked by a group of miscreants protesting against the release of the film Padmaavat.
“I saw the scene on television the day the incident occurred, and since then I kept thinking about why such an incident happened to these children,” said the chief minister, following his interaction. He added that the students had shown “immense courage” and that he has assured them that action will be taken against the protestors.
On 24 January, around 60 protestors attacked the said bus, which had 20-25 children on board, with bamboo sticks, demanding that the driver stop the vehicle. However, when the driver refused to comply, the miscreants pelted the vehicle with stones.
The school bus staffer then reportedly asked the kids to crawl under their seats for safety, and directed the driver to not stop the bus.
When stones were being thrown at their bus, the children not only showed courage but also braved the situation with poise and calm, the chief minister said.
The chief minister assured the students that adequate arrangements would be made by the state government to prevent re-occurrence of such incidents. He said that in a democratic system, every citizen had the right to express his views but if a protest is to be registered, it should be done peacefully.
This should not have happened, especially with small children. People who are responsible for this will be penalized and the government will ensure security for everyone.Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana CM
He lauded the teachers and the school for showing courage and acting quickly to provide security cover.
The ghastly incident invited condemnation from across the spectrum. While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attcked the BJP for “not sparing innocent children”, Congress Manish Tewari deemed the vandalism as reprehensible and questioned the government’s inaction.
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