Urging the nation not to regress to the 18th century mindset, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made an emotional appeal to end discrimination against the girl child. Modi launched the twin programmes of "Beti bachao, beti padhao" (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) and "Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna" (girl child prosperity scheme), in a bid to encourage birth and education of girls and tackle the abysmally low child sex ratio of 918 girls for 1000 boys. Describing the desire to indulge in female foeticide as a "mental illness" Modi said that if this discrimination does not end it could cause a "terrible crisis" soon because of a lack of women in the country. Incidentally the prime minister launched the two schemes from Panipat in Haryana that has among the lowest child sex ratio in the country (837 girls to 1000 boys). Modi who slammed the audience for "double standards" in killing daughters but desiring educated daughters-in-law also chose to attack doctors who assist in sex selective abortions. In a speech that was met with much applause, he said, "We cannot call ourselves citizens of 21st century by practicing such a crime and we by our mindsets belong to 18th century when daughters were killed soon after they were born." Pleading to end this ill practice, he said, "The Prime Minister of this country had come to them like a beggar and was begging for the lives of daughters."
Referring to Haryana, he said it was very painful for him to see that in a state which produced a woman like Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to have travelled in space, "other Kalpana Chawlas are killed in the wombs of their mother". He also launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojna (girl child prosperity scheme), under which girl children below 10 years will have bank accounts with more interest and income tax benefits.
Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union
ministers Maneka Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Smriti Irani and J P Nadda shared the
stage with Modi. Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit was also present to promote the drive
against female foeticide.
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