West Bengal is the only state which has completely refused to the implement the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme which is "not political", union minister Maneka Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha today.
Her remarks came during the Question Hour when a Trinamool Congress member mentioned that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had initiated a programme 'Kanyashree' which has also received a UN award.
TMC member Mriganka Mahato also requested that Kanyashree programme's model should be followed by other states.
In response, the Women and Child Development Minister said while the Kanyashree programme was effective, West Bengal is the "only state in India which has completely refused to implement the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme".
As a result, out of 161 districts, Kolkata has shown a "severe declining trend" in terms of child sex ratio, she said.
"In fact, Kolkata is unfortunately the worst of the 161 districts that we have taken," the minister said. Launched in January 2015, BBBP is implemented in 161 districts.
Gandhi also said that many states have done equally well in implementing schemes similar to Kanyashree.
She cited Ladli Yojana in Haryana, Balika Samridhi Yojana in Gujarat and Bangaru Talli scheme in Andhra Pradesh as examples.
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