Don't force school children to attend MGR centenary: High Court to Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday rejected Tamil Nadu government's appeal against its verdict asking it to not force school children to attend MG Ramachandran's (MGR) birth centenary functions to be held on September 30.

The court had on Wednesday directed the state government not to force school children to attend the state-sponsored birth centenary functions of ruling AIADMK founder.

A division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and R Subramanian had passed the interim order on a PIL by NGO Change India represented by its director A Narayananan.

The bench had directed the state chief secretary, school education secretary and director general of police not take the children to any event organised as part of the birth centenary celebrations of the late CM.

Referring to a recent media report, the petitioner had said that students of several government and private schools in Kanchipuram district were allegedly forced to attend the centenary celebrations of the late AIADMK leader, near Chennai on the instruction of the government.

Later in the day, the Tamil Nadu government had filed a counter affidavit in the HC.

The government had said it would conduct a motivational training programme to help children handle mental pressure, on the morning of September 30 in Salem, and the MGR centenary celebrations are scheduled for that evening.

The September 30 programme, involving Live Life Education Foundation, is just a measure to motivate government school students to attain good standards for their benefit, it had said.

"Moreover, the programme is not compulsory. Students participate voluntarily. Hence it is just and necessary to vacate the interim order," the school education department's deputy secretary, P Sekar, had said in the affidavit.

(With PTI inputs)