veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh— DC File

BHOPAL: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government seeking a probe into the allegations that children were made to raise political slogans at the ongoing ‘Ujjain to Ayodhya padayatra’ by veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

The NHRC has directed the chief secretary and director general of police (DGP) of the Madhya Pradesh government to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegation and submit a report within two weeks.

“We have received a complaint alleging that Digvijay Singh has initiated a march and has been exploiting children to increase the size of the crowds participating in it. The complainant has suggested that children might be involved through some arrangement, possibly involving monetary payments”, the NHRC notice, dated October 22, 2026, said.

The NHRC notice issued by its member Priyank Kanungo further said that the Congress leader has been accused of having children chant objectionable political slogans at the event.

The rights body has directed the chief secretary and the DGP of the Madhya Pradesh government to investigate the matter and submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days.

The NHRC has also asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to probe the alleged online circulation of videos and photographs featuring children taking part in the yatra.

Former chief minister Mr. Singh set out on a 70-day ‘padayatra’ from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on the Dussehra Day on Tuesday.

The yatra was launched at the Mahakaleshwar shrine in Ujjain and is scheduled to end at Ram Temple in Ayodhya after covering around 950 km.

The yatra was launched to highlight alleged theft of donations made for the construction of the Ram Temple and the alleged irregularities in the preparation of electoral rolls.


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