New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a dig at Centre over a parliamentary committee suggesting that the government should reconsider spending on advertisements under the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' scheme. He said that the BJP's real slogan is "chhavi bachao, photo chhapao (save image, get photos printed)".
The Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women flagged poor utilisation of funds by states under 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme and suggested that the government needs to focus more on education and health rather than advertising the scheme.
Tagging a media report on the panel report tabled in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet, "BJP ka asli naara -- chhavi bachao, photo chhapao (BJP's real slogan -- save image, get photos printed).
"The committee finds that out of a total of Rs 446.72 crore released during the period 2016-2019, a whopping 78.91 per cent was spent only on media advocacy. Though the committee understands the necessity to undertake media campaign to spread the message of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' among the people, they feel that it is equally important to balance the objectives of the scheme," the panel said.
Noting that over last six years, through focused advocacy, BBBP has been able to capture the attention of political leadership and national consciousness towards valuing the girl child, the report said, adding now the scheme should focus on other verticals by making ample financial provisions.
"Since BBBP is one of the most important schemes of the government to improve child sex ratio in backward regions and ensure education of the girl children, the committee recommends that the government should, hereafter, reconsider spending on advertisements under the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' scheme and should focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health," it added.