A video of Arif visiting the bird in Kanpur went viral yesterday.
BJP MP Varun Gandhi today pitched for the release of a sarus crane from an Uttar Pradesh sanctuary and said it should be reunited with the man who had rescued the bird and taken care of it for over a year.
The bird had been separated from Arif Khan and shifted to Kanpur zoo by the forest department officials who had claimed that the endangered bird needs to live in natural environment.
Days after the sarus crane was shifted to Kanpur zoo, reports emerged that the bird was not eating food properly.
A video of Arif visiting the bird in Kanpur went viral yesterday. The video shows Arif standing outside the bird's enclosure. The sarus, meanwhile, is seen jumping in excitement. The bird even spreads its wings and tries to find a way out.
Sharing the video on Twitter, Varun Gandhi said the bird should be given back to Arif. "Their love is pure. This beautiful bird is meant to fly freely and not to live in a cage," he tweeted in hindi pitching for its release.
"Give back the bird it's sky, freedom and friend," he said.
Earlier, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav had also met Arif Khan after the bird was taken away from him. He had said that UP forest department action shows that BJP finds happiness by giving sorrow to others.
"The BJP people do not love the environment of love, whether it is love between man and man or between man and bird. Those who find their happiness by giving sorrow to others can never be happy," Akhilesh Yadav said.
Arif had rescued the endangered bird and nursed it back to health. Videos of the saras crane following Arif everywhere and flying alongside his motorcycle had been widely shared on social media and the bond between man and bird had become a head turner with passersby clicking videos and photos of the duo.