The Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to stop printing photographs of Chief Ministers and other political functionaries in schools bags, textbooks, and stationery items distributed for free to government school students.
A bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu passed the order while hearing a PIL that sought directions to the government on the issue.
"It is abhorring that school books or school bags meant for school-going children who do not have a right to vote would carry photographs of public functionaries even if the functionary is the Chief Minister of the State,” the bench said.
The bench also asked the state government not to misuse public funds for printing photographs of leaders. “The State should ensure that such practice is not continued in future," the court added.
The court’s observation comes a fortnight after Chief Minister M K Stalin asked the School Education Department to distribute bags with photographs of former Chief Ministers J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi told the Assembly that Stalin gave the go-ahead as changing the photographs would cost Rs 13 crore to the exchequer.
Stalin has also done away with the practice of printing the photographs of the Chief Minister on the certificates awarded to Best Teachers on Teachers’ Day. Even the tokens issued for distributing Rs 4,000 as Covid-19 relief and the bag containing 14 grocery items distributed to ration card holders did not have the photograph of the Chief Minister.
It has been the practice of political parties in Tamil Nadu to print photographs of their leaders in school bags and certificates among other things when they are in power.
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