New Delhi [India], August 2 : Rajya Sabha member and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on Wednesday urged the Centre to bring back Indian baby girl Ariha Shah who has been living in a foster care in Berlin, Germany for around two years.
The child, Ariha Shah, was accidentally hurt by her grandmother in September 2021 following which the German authorities took the baby away. She is currently under German foster care.
Presenting baby Ariha Shah's mother Dhara Shah before the media, Jaya Bachchan urged the External Affairs Minister to bring the child back to India.
"I am presenting Dhara Shah in front of everyone whose daughter Ariha Shah has been taken by the German govt for 2 years now...She has come to seek help from the parliamentarians. Due to cultural differences, they have taken a strict stand & we will put in a request to the external affairs minister & the German embassy as well...We request the Indian govt to bring the child & keep her in a foster home in India," Jaya said.
She urged the government to bring back baby Ariha Shah.
"There is a foster home based in Gujarat and we request the government to bring back baby Ariha Shah and send her to that foster home and whatever judgement will be passed, should be made by the Indian government and not by the German government," she added.
Last month also, CPI(M) MP John Brittas and 58 other members of Parliament belonging to 19 political parties signed the joint letter addressed to the German Ambassador to India for the repatriation of a two-year-old baby girl Ariha Shah, who is currently under German foster care, to India.
In this regard, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the MEA and the Embassy of India in Berlin have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India.
He said that the government has urged German authorities to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national. "We remain committed to ensuring the return of Ariha Shah to India," he added.
"India has a robust child welfare and protection system, and there are potential foster parents in India who are willing to bring up the child in her own socio-cultural milieu. The German authorities have been made aware of India's child protection system and the details of potential foster parents have also been shared with them. Ariha's continued placement in German foster care and infringement of her social, cultural and linguistic rights is of deep concern to the Government of India and the parents," he added.
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