Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], August 16 (HBTV): Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Jitu Patwari on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the sale and purchase of children from the state in Maharashtra due to the poverty citing media reports.

Patwari sought that the central government should immediately summon the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and take strict action against the accused persons.

A copy of the letter, which is with ANI, read, "Children are on sale in the Kanchanwadi area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra. The price is only Rs 25,000. All these children belong to tribal families who went to Maharashtra to work as labourers from Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh. Tribal families from 11 villages of the Mundi area in Khandwa are moving to Maharashtra and Gujarat in search of earning money, but the financial shortage is such that they have to sell their children."

"Tribal labourers from Madhya Pradesh are selling their children due to poverty at construction sites in Maharashtra. Many labourer families are surviving on begging due to lack of work. These families have named the sale of children as a tradition. They do not use words like buying and selling children in conversation, but they say, if anyone wants a child, we have it for them," the letter added.

"This disclosure has once again proved that the Dalit and tribal community of Madhya Pradesh is poor, oppressed and exploited. They are not even getting the benefits of government schemes that are engulfed in corruption. The system of free ration for the poor has also come under suspicion due to this disclosure," it added.

"The sensational truth that has come to light through media reports is raising serious questions on the policy, rules and intentions of the Maharashtra government along with Madhya Pradesh. By taking the loans of crores of rupees, the Madhya Pradesh government is spending only on its luxury and the remaining money is used in the coffers of the corrupt system in corruption schemes," stated the letter.

"Another worrying aspect is that when you were boasting about the alleged achievements of the BJP government from the Red Fort, at the same time, families drowning in poverty were demanding answers for their government's neglect. The central government should immediately summon the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and take strict action against the culprits," the letter added.   

(ANI)