According to Raj Kishor Mahato, the chief of Labor Office, Morang, candidates using children in electioneering will face a penalty of Rs 50,000 or a year"s jail or both. [break]
Mahato informed that the Labor Office has already directed the candidates and political parties not to use children in the publicity activities. He also said that offenders will be punished immediately.
If any political party is found in breach of the law regarding exploitation of children, the local candidates of the party will be held responsible, according to Mahato.
Not only the Labor Office, but also the Morang district office of Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) has started monitoring election campaigns to see if any children are being used. Sunita Tamrakar, a child rights officer in Morang, informed that three monitoring teams of the non-governmental organizations working on children"s sector have been formed for the purpose.
CCWB has categorized 22 districts across the Tarai as highly sensitive zones where children were rampantly used during the previous elections.
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