A septuagenarian couple in Ghaziabad has offered to adopt Narendra Modi, in the wake of Uttar Pradesh’s child welfare body issuing a notice to the Prime Minister asking him to provide evidence to prove that he,indeed, is an adopted son of UP. According to a report in The Telegraph, Yogendra Pal Yogi’s and his wife Atarkali’s application to adopt the 66-year old PM was rejected by Ghaziabad’s deputy registrar.
Deputy Registrar reasoned his decision on fact that the guardian of the child had to be present to sign the agreement, according to The Telegraph report.
Modi found himself in the firing line of UP’s State Commission for Protection of Child Rights after remarks he made at an election rally were taken in literal sense. During a campaign speech on Feb 17 in the ongoing UP election, the PM made an emotional appeal for votes as he called himself the “adopted” son of Uttar Pradesh.
“Lord Krishna was born in U.P. and made Gujarat his karmbhoomi (land of work). I was born in Gujarat and U.P. has adopted me … Uttar Pradesh is my mai baap. I am not the son who would betray his mai baap. You have adopted me and it is my duty to work for you,” Modi had said during his speech, made at Hardoi.
The comments evoked strong reactions from rival politicians. Congress’ star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi quipped at a separate election rally that UP didn’t need adopted sons from outside as it already had Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, who have joined hands to contest the election.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said Varanasi has adopted me and I am like a son for it and will develop it…But I felt, does Uttar Pradesh need to adopt anyone from outside,” Priyanka Gandhi said during a rally in the Rae Bareli constituency, represented in Lok Sabha by her mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Also read: Uttar Pradesh elections 2017: Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Rae Bareli, highlights
Just days after the PM made his remarks, a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights reportedly accused Modi of mocking the children waiting for adoption.
The Telegraph quoted a member of the child rights commission, Nahid Lari Khan, as saying, “I have issued the notice in the best interest of the children waiting for adoption. He (Modi) has mocked the sanctity of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.”
According to the English daily, the notice served to Modi reads,
“Your statement is a direct violation and is against the spirit of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, Chapter 8, Section 56 to 73 wherein the Constitution has defined the process of adoption.
“Kindly submit legal documents that you have been legally adopted by someone in the state of Uttar Pradesh…. In the absence of such legal documents, an apology from your side is the need of the hour, to millions of poor and abandoned children who are striving each day without parents and also to those people who are waiting for their turn to adopt a child and are greatly pained by your callous statement.”
The Telegraph notes that the commission members are appointed by the state government, which is a political rival of Modi.
