Bhubaneswar, April 9 (IANS): The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha over the alleged use of children during election campaign in Khordha by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“It has come to our notice that during a rally conducted by the BJP at the Jatani Block Chowk under the Jatani Assembly seat, which is part of the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency, on Sunday, 15-20 children were seen participating in the event, which is a violation of child rights and the Election Commission's guidelines,” the BJD alleged in its complaint.

The party also claimed that the BJP nominee for the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, Aparajita Sarangi, Assembly candidate from Jatani, Biswa Ranjan Badajena, and Chilika MLA Prasanta Jagadeb were present at the rally along with other BJP workers.

The party also enclosed photos and videos in support of its claim.

The use of children in poll campaigns is unethical, as it is wrong to involve them in such activities with the temperature hovering over the 42-degree Celsius mark, the BJD claimed.

“We therefore urge the state poll panel to take immediate action against the concerned BJP leaders for using children during the rally in Khordha. We hope the Election Commission upholds the integrity of the electoral process and ensures that such incidents are not repeated,” the BJP said in its complaint.