Chennai, Sep 10 (IANS): Tamil Nadu BJP has slammed Chief Minister M.K Stalin over the alleged ‘manual labour’ of the school students in Sivaganga government school ahead of the visit of a state minister.

“Shocked to hear that govt school children in Sivaganga were used in manual labour for preparing for an event to be attended by TN Sports Minister and son of Chief Minister, @UdhayStalin,” BJP National Secretary and Tamil Nadu in-charge Aravind Menon wrote on X.

“I ask the School Education Minister @Anbil_Mahesh to introspect if the people of Tamil Nadu, especially the underprivileged, send their children to school to do manual labour for events conducted by you, or to study and become successful, and break the chain of poverty and social inequality?” he said.

He added, “Is this your Dravida Model, where students are made to clean toilets, level grounds, and carry heavy poles?”

He said that when involving students in such administrative work, what happens to the funds allocated for these tasks?

“If you can’t curb these violations within the school education ministry, why do you hold such a crucial ministerial position? Shame! @mkstalin,” he wrote.

Notable, around 60 hostel students of a government school in Sivagangai district were compelled to walk barefoot and do manual labour.

There are allegations that the school children were forced to level the ground, clean toilets and carry heavy poles for a function to be attended by the Sports Development and Youth Affairs minister of Tamil Nadu, Udhayanidhi Stalin.