New Delhi: With increasing number of road accidents involving vehicles driven by under-age boys, Union Minister Renuka Chowdhary on Tuesday said parents of such children should face the music.

"We will write to the Road Transport Ministry to take stringent action against the parents," the Women and Child Development Minister said, reacting to the recent incident on Gurgaon Expressway where a car carrying three teenagers and allegedly driven by an under-age boy met with a fatal mishap.

Chowdhary was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the facilitation centre of the Women and Child Development Ministry here. The centre will provide information about various schemes amd programmes of the Ministry.

Emphasising that the children have no idea about the risks involved in minor mistakes committed on the roads, she said the Road Transport Ministry should amend the law and bring the parents into its ambit to deal with such cases.

"The children are not at fault. The parents should be responsible enough not to allow an under-age child to drive. This is the reason they are not allowed to vote, drink. Father's licence should be taken back and then only there will be a check (on such incidents)," she added.

Replying to a query, the Minister said the use of mobile phones in schools should not be allowed. There are other security measures that can ensure the safety of a child.

"The HRD Ministry should write to schools about banning the use of mobile phones. I am an orthodox in such matters -- children have no business of using mobile phones," she said.

The Minister said the use of mobile phones by pregnant women should also be discouraged as recent studies claim that it could be harmful for them.

"I am not against technology and experts can decide on the quantum of risk involved in using mobile phones during pregnancy. I believe there should be self-regulation," she added.

To a question about the Noida twin murder, she said, "Making a film or serial on such issues shows the non-serious attitude towards the pain of a family. However, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has intervened at the right time".

Source : PTI