CM, LOP voice concern over falling sex ratio

Ahmedabad: Chief minister Vijay Rupani, on International Women’s Day, expressed concern about the declining sex ratio in the state.
Speaking in the assembly on Women’s Day, Rupani said, “Gujarat has under the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, but it is a fact that the sex ratio is declining in the state.

There are more male children born than girls, which is a blot on the state. We have to fight and launch a movement against female feticide. He further said that with fewer girls in the state, youth are forced to go to other regions to marry and even to marry outside their caste.Rupani said the government was concerned and on Women’s Day, to encourage the birth of girls, gave silver coins and flowers to parents who just had girls.

Leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani said the child sex ratio improvement in 2011 compared to 2001. But after the census, there was a sharp decline in sex ratio at birth. Between 2011-2013 and 2014-2016 there was a 63-point decline He said this was a cause for worry. He said there was also an increase in incidents of atrocities on women and the women’s helpline received more than three lakh complaints in 2017.

Politicking peaks at question hour

Politicking peaked during question hour on Women’s Day. The Congress MLA from Petlad, Niranjan Patel, said rivers are considered mothers and we shouldn’t allow untreated waste from the industry to pollute them. The BJP quickly responded saying that it had launched the Clean Ganga Project.

Congress MLA said that the government should ensure while cleaning a river, its banks do not get dirty. Nitin Patel then interjected that the Congress was responsible for non-performing assets mess and the BJP was cleaning it. He said that Congress leaders gave crores of rupees to these people (bank defaulters) and alleged that they had even siphoned off fodder meant for cows, which he said was our mother. Both leaders tried to establish that they had given more heft to women in politics.