New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday dismissed as a "complete lie" apex child rights body NCPCR's allegation that the party has violated the law by setting up 'Jawahar Bal Manch' and "using children" for political purposes during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

In a tweet, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said the apex child rights body has lodged an official complaint with the Election Commission regarding the use of children by the Congress through its department Jawahar Bal Manch during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

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The commission has issued a notice to the Congress.

The task of recognizing and regulating political parties rests with the Election Commission, so the matter has been taken up with it, Kanoongo said.

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The NCPCR chief said that the matter pertains to opening a political department for children below 18 years of age by "violating" the principles of the Constitution.

Responding to his remarks, Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said, "This is a complete lie, not expected from the head of a statutory body even given his RSS/BJP links. Obviously, he is following in the footsteps of those who tell him what to do. We have submitted a detailed memorandum to the EC on the NCPCR's bogus complaint."

The Congress on Monday conveyed to the Election Commission that no violation of the Representation of the People Act was done during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and children were not used for campaigning, as it slammed the NCPCR's complaint against it as "frivolous" and "baseless".

The Congress also filed a counter complaint against the BJP, alleging that the ruling party and its functionaries were "using children in a malafide and perverse way".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)