Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 3

The state government’s commitment towards martyrs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign came under question from INLD MLA from Nuh Zakir Husaain during Question Hour in the Assembly today.Reacting to the answer given by Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on question whether there was any proposal under consideration of the government to establish a university in Nuh, Husaain alleged that despite the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s announcement, the government had not opened a women’s college in the name of martyr Lt Kiran Shekhawat at Kurthana village of Mewat.“When Lt Shekhawat was martyred in a Navy aircraft crash in March last year, becoming the first woman officer of the country to die in the line of duty, Khattar had visited her Kurthana village and had announced to open a women’s college in her memory.

When Khattar laid the foundation stones of 21 women’s colleges on a single day on February 10, the one announced for Kurthana has been left out even when all formalities had been completed ahead of the event,” Hussain alleged.He said the BJP government not only chose against giving due recognition to the brave officer’s martyrdom, but had also forgotten its own Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao slogan in case of Mewat.Refuting Hussain’s allegations, Sharma maintained that there were some issues relating to the land identified for the college, a claim that Nuh MLA contradicted.Sharma said when Khattar laid the foundation stone of 21 women’s colleges on February 10, one of them was in Punhana falling in Hussain’s assembly constituency Nuh.In contrast, when Congress MLA from Jhajjar Geeta Bhukkal tried to pooh-pooh the government’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign and alleged that women MLAs were not being provided ample opportunity to speak in the Vidhan Sabha, she had to withdraw her comments following strong reactions from the BJP MLAs.Having asked one supplementary question during Health Minister Anil Vij’s reply to Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta’s question on specialist doctors, Bhukkal raised her hand for another question, but the Speaker, who perhaps did not look at her, asked the next member to ask question.“Women members are not being allowed to ask questions. Is this your Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Abhiyaan?” she asked. However, several BJP members, including Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain, Ambala City MLA Aseem Goyal and others strongly objected to her comments and asked her to withdraw it.Ostensibly realising her mistake, Bhukkal chose to withdraw her comments.