Pawar's daughter on anti-female foeticide mission

Mumbai, Jul 20: Alarmed over the fall in child sex ratio in rural Maharashtra, NCP MP Supriya Sule is on a mission to save the girl child and wants the government to increase the quantum of punishment against the offenders as far as female foeticide is concerned.

"The issue of female foeticide needs discussion and debate in every home, on every dining table. People should realise that it is a stigma to kill your child," she said.

"We will ask the government to increase the quantum of punishment for offenders. Not only the quantum should be more, but also immediate effective action is needed to curb the evil practice," Sule, daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, told PTI.

The newly released provisional Census 2011 data, which showed that fewer girls are born in rural areas than in urban.

The child sex ratio, which indicates the number of girls born per 1,000 boys, has fallen from 916 in rural Maharashtra to 880, a drop of 36 points. In contrast, the child sex ratio in urban Maharashtra has dipped from 908 to 888 in the last decade.

"The issue is close to my heart, because I am the only child of my parents, who chose family planning at a time, when nobody talked about it. I was never brought up any differently than the boys. I feel my father is an ideal icon for this programme (drive against female foeticide)," she said.

Sule announced that she would go on a padayatra between August 25 and 28 to raise awareness on saving the girl child.

Asked if she had asked other parties to join the campaign, she said, "I have written to every MLA and MP to join the padyatra and support the cause."

PTI