New Delhi:
With seemingly no end in sight to the ordeal that an NRI couple in Norway has been going through over the custody of their children, senior Left leader Brinda Karat met External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today and pushed for the government's immediate intervention in ensuring early return of the children. The government had last month struck an agreement with Norway authorities that the custody of the two children will be handed over to their Kolkata-based paternal uncle.
During the meeting, the CPI(M) MP and politburo member conveyed her "deep concern" to Mr Krishna over the statement made by a top Norwegian official that the children will not be sent to India before April.
"I think the head of the Child Protection Services, Gunnar Toresen, has prejudged the issue and he says even after April there is no guarantee of them being sent," she said.
"Their visas are expiring on May 8. Their visas should not be extended. It is where the Government of India should intervene and take steps to bring the children back to India soon," she said.
Three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya have been placed under the care of a foster family in Norway. The two were taken away by the Norwegian authorities in May last year after they found their parents - Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya - guilty of "an emotional disconnect" with their children.
Despite the Indian government's intervention, the Norwegian Child Welfare Services is following long procedures in handing over the children to their paternal uncle, Arunabhas Bhattacharya, who will be the formal custodian of the two.
For starters, Mr Bhattacharya - a dentist by profession - has been asked to stay away from his brother and sister-in-law - the child's parents. Towards that end, he has been put up at a hotel, the expenses of which the agency has promised to foot. He is also being made to attend regular sessions with the welfare service and psychologists, who say they want to ensure he knows what he's getting into. This involves teaching him how to take care of the children since, the agency says, he is young. After the Norway courts allow the children's custody to be passed to him, the latter would be able to return to India with the children.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian authorities are taking their time in making their recommendations to the court that will eventually decide the fate of the two children of the NRI couple. They also categorically denied that cultural differences had played a role in their decision to take away the children, adding that they will not give in to the political pressure they are facing right now and give a quick recommendation to the courts to give custody to the uncle.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister SM Krishna had told Norwegian diplomats and his counterpart that the children must be brought back to India and to an environment in which they are culturally and linguistically comfortable.
(
With PTI inputs)