Sushma and social media come to the help of couple in Norway

Continuing with its Twitter-driven diplomacy, the External Affairs Ministry intervened on Thursday to ensure the well-being of a child who was taken away from an Indian couple by the child welfare department of Norway.

BJP leader Vijay Jolly, who first took up the case, told The Hindu that Indian Ambassador Debraj Pradhan had reached out to the toddler’s family to ensure that the custody battle was resolved soon.

“I was told by Mr. Pradhan that he is in touch with the family and is keeping a close watch on the case being pursued by the Norwegian authorities,” the BJP leader said.

Sushma intervenes

The Indian Ambassador was engaged to resolve the case amicably after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought a report from him on a complaint from the Indian couple who said the child was forcibly taken away from them.

“I have asked the Indian Ambassador in Norway to send me a report,” Ms. Swaraj tweeted.

Mr. Jolly had written to her and the Indian Ambassador in Norway after the couple sought his help to regain custody of their child.

He subsequently launched a campaign on social media to secure the release of the child and also met officials of the Norwegian embassy in Delhi to this end.

Third case in Norway

In his letter to the Indian Ambassador, Mr. Jolly expressed concern about the boy’s welfare and supported the child’s father Anil Kumar Sharma, a member of the Overseas friends of BJP (OFBJP).

This is the third case since 2011 of children being taken away from their Indian-origin parents by the authorities in Norway on the grounds of abuse.

‘Misconceived notion’

Mr. Jolly said Norwegian authorities had failed to understand Indian family values and had acted out of a misconceived notion of child-welfare.

“Indian parents have their own way of raising a child and Norway needs to withdraw charges of child abuse against the family and return the child to his parents,” he said.