Union minister's remark on bursting of firecrackers sparks row

CHENNAI: Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan has sparked a row asking if children will be punished if they burst crackers on Diwali during the time of restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court with DMK saying no remarks should be made that would amount to "disrespecting" the top court.

Radhakrishnan has said not adults, but it is children who burst fireworks in large numbers on Diwali.

"Not adults, over 90 per cent of those bursting crackers are children.. What are you going to do with them.. Will you impose the law on them," he said at Nagercoil recently.

He asked if the government would post a policeman at every house, apparently to implement the apex court order.

Diwali was a "people's festival" even as Christmas was due in another two months, he said, claiming these sort of restrictions could be in place then too.

Reacting to Radhakrishnan's statement, DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran said children who burst crackers do so under the supervision of parents, indicating that the onus was on the parents to adhere to the court order.

"What the Central Minister Radhakrishnan is saying, those whom he refers to as children, they don't do it (bursting crackers) themselves.. They do it under the supervision of the parents," he said.

"That being the case, the Supreme Court has given a verdict for a good thing (to address pollution). We should follow it to the maximum extent possible. That is the reality. The apex court's verdict is for parents," he told PTI.

He also said no remarks should be made against the court that would amount to "disrespecting" it.

Meanwhile, welcoming the apex court order, environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman it was a 'good' one.

"We should voluntarily shun firecrackers," he said when asked about Radhakrishnan's remarks.

Last month, Radhakrishnan triggered a row over his comments on the #MeToo movement, saying it was started by "people with perverted minds."

The Supreme Court had on October 23 permitted the sale and manufacture of low emission "green" firecrackers across the nation and fixed a two-hour time period from 8 pm to 10 pm for bursting them on Diwali and other festivals.

The Tamil Nadu government later moved the court urging it to allow firecrackers to be burst on Diwali morning in accordance with religious practices in the state, besides the already permitted 8 pm to 10 pm period.

Following this, the court had modified its order for Tamil Nadu, allowing it to decide on the time slot for burning firecrackers.

Accordingly, the state government Friday fixed the slot for bursting crackers between 6 am to 7 am and 7 pm and 8 pm, confining the revelry to two hours in line with the apex court directive.

Diwali falls on November 6 in the state.