MUMBAI: A differently-abled woman who uses a wheelchair has claimed she had to be carried to the second-floor office of a marriage registrar in the city on her wedding day because the building had no lift and the officials refused to come down to complete the formalities.
"How is this fair? What happened to the Accessible India campaign? Just because I'm a wheelchair user, do I not have the right to get married to someone I love? What if someone had slipped and what if I had fallen on my wedding day? Who is responsible?" asked Virali Modi, who identifies herself as a disability rights activist, in a thread on X on Wednesday.
The post, which was retweeted many times, elicited response from Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who assured her that he would look into the issue.
"I am disabled and I got married at the Registrars Office at Khar Mumbai on 16/10/23. The office was on the 2nd floor WITHOUT a lift. They wouldn't come downstairs for the signatures and I had to be carried up two flights of stairs to get married," Modi said on X.
"I am disheartened that my country's government and citizens cannot accommodate to my disability. My faith in humanity has been destroyed by this ordeal. I am not a piece of luggage that needs to be carried up two floors. I am a human being and my rights matter!" she added on an anguished note.
In response to Virali's tweets, Fadnavis said he was sorry for what she had to face.
"First of all many congratulations on the new beginnings and wishing you both a very happy and a beautiful married life! Also, I really am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. I have personally taken cognisance and will take corrective and appropriate action," he tweeted.
When one X user tweeted that "that is test for your husband if he can carry you for rest of your life he has passed", he got a sharp reply from Virali Modi.
"My husband is not my caretaker. I was independent before him and I am independent after him. He shouldn't have to carry me because my government should already be accommodating to my needs. Change this kind of mentality," she said.