This MLA takes her two-month-old son to Delhi Assembly every day
For someone who has not been elected, he has found his way into the State Assembly by being born into the right family. He is charming the MLAs, and winning support, while his mother soldiers on at work, for she has a constituency to run.
Together, Rohtas Nagar's representative Sarita Singh, and her two-month-old son Advait Abhinav Rai make the most inspiring and adorable pair in the Delhi Assembly.
Born on November 8, 2017, to AAP MLA Sarita Singh and AAP volunteer Abhinav Rai, Advait Rai is taken to the sessions as there is no maternity leave policy in the Delhi Assembly, and the child is being breastfed.
"There is no maternity leave when we are public servants, and we are accountable to the people. We have responsibilities to fulfill, and I am enjoying this phase of my life,” Sarita told News18.
Everybody chips in to take care of Advait when Sarita tends to her responsibilities as a legislator, and one or two of her colleagues are there to watch over him at all times. There are times when Advait also accompanies his mother for fieldwork. “The Assembly is a very peaceful place but I had taken him along even for inspecting overflowing drains. Then I would feed him in the car.”
The Assembly, currently lacks a crèche, so Sarita simply breastfeeds Advait in the privacy of Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bidlan’s office. While she has faced strong resistance from her family elders who feel it may be risky for the baby's growth and development, Sarita and Abhinav, in turn, respond by stating that exposure to more people is actually what they want for their little one.
Sarita intends to follow this system for another at least another six months until the baby is allowed to outside food.