Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Friday made an unscheduled visit to GD Goenka School, Sohna, in Gurugram district and interacted with the students and teachers whose bus was recently pelted with stones by some miscreants protesting the release of the movie, Padmaavat.
The chief minister patted the students on the back for showing courage in the face of an adverse situation.
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 stones were being thrown at their bus by miscreants protesting against the release of Padmaavat, the children not only showed courage but also braved the situation with poise and calm. Expressing concern over their security, he assured them that adequate arrangements would be made by the state government to prevent re occurrence of such incidents.
Manohar lal said 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 how things happened that day and also interacted with the teachers then 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, lied down between the seats of the bus and covered themselves. Five lady 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. He also interacted with bus driver Ramesh. He told the Chief Minister that three buses of GD Goenka School were in the queue. Out of these, two buses were provided safe passage by the Gurugram Police by pacifying the people but someone from the crowd threw 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 ben set ablaze and the police were trying to pacify the mob, Ramesh added.
Principal of the School, Nita Bali said the Chief Minister was quite concerned about the incident and had taken time out to come and meet the children.