CHANDIGARH: Raghav Chadha, Member of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Rajya Sabha, has demanded a law to make paid paternity leave a legal right in India, emphasising the need for shared caregiving responsibilities.
He once again drew attention to the issue during the ongoing Parliament session by raising a key social concern.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he argued that fathers should not have to choose between their jobs and family, calling it a necessary reform to support both mother and child during childbirth.
“I demanded in Parliament that paternity leave should be a legal right in India. When a child is born, both parents are congratulated. But caregiving responsibility falls on one, the mother. A father should not have to choose between caregiving for his newborn and keeping his job,” he said.
Emphasising the need for a more balanced approach, he added that caregiving responsibilities after childbirth should not fall solely on mothers and stressed that the presence of a husband is crucial for a woman immediately after childbirth, not only for emotional support but also for shared caregiving.
“A mother should not have to go through childbirth and recovery without her husband’s support. Right after childbirth, the woman needs her husband’s presence the most. The husband’s caregiving responsibility towards his wife is equally important. I raised this issue in Parliament because caregiving is a shared responsibility. Our laws must reflect that,” he said.
Chadha further said that in countries such as Sweden, Iceland and Japan, this legal right ranges from 90 days to 52 weeks as a guaranteed provision.
“In India, 90 per cent of the workforce is in the private sector. That means most fathers do not have this right,” he added.
At present, there is no specific law in the country mandating paternity leave in the private sector. While maternity leave is governed under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, paternity leave remains outside the purview of labour legislation.
His remarks come at a time when the judiciary has also echoed similar sentiments.
Earlier this month, while hearing a matter, a bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan observed that while a mother’s role in a child’s development is undeniable, the father’s role is equally important and cannot be ignored.
The court noted that parenting is a shared responsibility and that fathers should have the opportunity to actively participate in a child’s early development.
Earlier, Chadha has also raised consumer and public interest issues such as online delivery timelines, airline charges on luggage, and packaged juices for health.