Rakhi's 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' raises minister's ire

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Saying producers cannot exploit children, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath has slammed reality show 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' in which celebrity couples take care of babies not their own.

'For the sake of making a serial, the makers cannot exploit and harass the children,' Tirath told reporters here Thursday when told that some NGOs have complained to the ministry about the reality show.

'Even though the children's parents are watching what is happening, the makers cannot separate them from their biological parents,' she said.

Women and Child Development secretary Anil Kumar said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), an autonomous body that works for child rights, is looking into the matter.

'NCPCR has written to the I&B (information and broadcasting) ministry to take action and stop the serial,' he said.

Last week, an NGO - Uday Foundation - made a written complaint against the show. The NGO wrote to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, the NCPCR and the labour ministry.

'Pati Patni Aur Woh', inspired by international reality show 'Baby Borrowers', is about parenting. Right from living the life of an eight-month pregnant woman to taking care of an infant, a toddler, and a teenager - the show will show five couples doing it. It began Sep 28.

Rakhi Sawant-Elesh Parujanwala, Shilpa Saklani-Apurva Agnihotri, Juhi Parmar-Sachin Shroff, Mouni Roy-Gaurav Chopra and onscreen couple Gurmeet Chaudhary-Debina Bonnerjee are in the show.

NDTV Imagine said parents of the children were watching the proceedings via closed-circuit television.