Madras high court slams use of photos of Jayalalithaa and EPS on school bags – Times of India

CHENNAI: It is “abhorring” that schoolbooks or schoolbags meant for children, who do not have the right to vote, carry photographs of public functionaries even if the functionary is the chief minister, the Madras high court observed on Tuesday.
“Public funds cannot be misused for printing photographs for the personal interests of any politician. The state should ensure that such practice is not continued in future,” the court said. It also commended the present DMK government for its decision not to waste money on erasing pictures already printed by the previous AIADMK government.
“Thankfully, it is submitted by the advocate general that a statement has been made on the floor of the assembly recently to the effect that so as not to waste money already expended, the present dispensation will ensure that schoolbags, textbooks and stationery bearing the photographs or other signs of previous chief ministers will continue to be used till exhausted,” said the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu.
The bench was making the observation on a PIL demanding that the state government be directed to continue using unused stocks of textbooks and other stationery material, like crayons, colour pencils and schoolbags, which carry photos of former CMs.
Recording the submissions of advocate general R Shunmugasundaram, the judges said: “It is also submitted on behalf of the state that the CM does not desire his photographs to be published on such material in future.” “However, photographs of the CM may be carried, but that should be restricted to advertisements in newspapers or some hoardings and certainly not used on textbooks or exercise books, or any educational material at all,” the bench said, disposing of the plea.