Ananya Chakrabarti has defended her action.
A Facebook post by Ananya Chakraborti, chairperson, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights asking people to donate food and clothes for Rohingya children in various jails of West Bengal, has raised eyebrows.
Chakraborti’s post on Saturday read, ‘Rohingya children in jails with their mothers (0-6 years) need clothes, warm clothes, savlon, mosquito nets for infants. Also biscuits, chocolates, cakes are welcome. Anyone wanting to donate pl contact West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights at our Ultadanga office. There are 17 children in one jail presently’.
The post had raised several eyebrows as it is unprecedented for any chairperson of the commission to invite such contributions. Interestingly it comes at a time when the Centre, via an affidavit at the Supreme Court had said that Rohingya muslims from Myanmar should be deported and that they were a security threat to India. The affidavit also said that Rohingya muslims has links with banned terror outfits.
Senior officials of Nabanna, the state secretariat said that they were not sure if Chakraborti could have done it on a personal level. “Being the chairperson of the commission she could have talked to the respective jail authorities or the government,” said a senior Nabanna official.
A former senior member of the commission came in support of Chakraborti saying that the post was aimed at collecting food items and clothes for children in need. “It is a good initiative on her part and is totally in sync with her duties and responsibilities. She has taken to social media to garner help for children who need support. What is the harm in it?” he said.
Talking to DNA, Chakraborti too said that there was nothing wrong in it and that even if some people were trying question it, she would not take it off. “I never asked people for depositing money in my bank account. I had appealed to people who could donate warm clothes, mosquito nets, chocolates, biscuits and cakes for 17 children who are in jail. There is nothing wrong in it perhaps the mediapersons are trying to create a controversy out of nothing,” Chakraborti said.
She also said she had not come across any controversy over her post and on the contrary there had been some very positive response. “There have been 29 shares of the article till this morning and many have commented on the post expressing their interest to help out the children who are in need,” she added.
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