Over a week after their school bus was attacked by miscreants in the name of protest against film "Padmaavat", Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday made an unscheduled visit to the G. D. Goenka School, Sohna, in Gurugram and interacted with the students and teachers.
Khattar praised the children, teachers and bus staff for showing courage in the face of an adverse situation.
The school bus was pelted with stones by some miscreants, allegedly belonging to the Shree Rajput Karni Sena, on January 24 during a protest against the release of the movie "Padmaavat".
While sympathizing with the school children, the Chief Minister said: "Since I saw this incident on the television, what kept boggling my mind was why it should have happened to the little children. Though I am not feeling well, yet I decided to meet you all."
"When the stones were being thrown at their bus, the children not only showed courage but also braved the situation with poise and calm. Expressing concern over their security, the Chief Minister assured them that adequate arrangements would be made by the state government to prevent re-occurrence of such incidents," a state government spokesman said in Chandigarh.
Khattar said that in a democratic system, every citizen had the right to express his views but if protest is to be registered, it should be done peacefully. He inquired from the children about how things happened that day and also interacted with the teachers who were present in the bus.
He appreciated the teachers for acting sensibly during the incident and saving the students from being hurt. A teacher told the Chief Minister that the brave students, on getting instructions, sat down on the bus floor between the seats and covered themselves. Five women teachers were accompanying the students in the bus. After giving the students and teachers a patient hearing, the Chief Minister asked the students to try and forget the incident.
Khattar also interacted with bus driver Ramesh. The driver told the Chief Minister that three buses of G. D. Goenka School were in the queue.
"Of these, two buses were provided safe passage by the Gurugram Police by pacifying the people but someone from the crowd threw a stone on the front glass of his bus, followed by another stone which hit the driver's side glass window. Until then, the bus of Haryana Roadways had not been set ablaze and the police were trying to pacify the mob," Ramesh said, narrating the incident.
--IANS
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