School Bags Bearing Modi and Mayor’s Photos Distributed to Students in Thiruvananthapuram; Controversy Erupts

Thiruvananthapuram: School bags and notebooks distributed to underprivileged students in schools under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation have triggered a controversy after it emerged that the bags carried photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mayor V V Rajesh, along with the caption "Mayor Care."

The distribution was carried out under a scheme to provide study materials to economically weaker students in schools within the corporation limits. However, the use of the bags — bearing political figures' photographs — for what is ostensibly a civic welfare programme has drawn widespread criticism. The Mayor is facing sharp backlash for what critics describe as an attempt to use educational materials meant for children as a vehicle for party publicity.