Agartala Feb 13: Daughters are not burden; they are our pride. Minister for social welfare and social education Tinku Roy strongly pitched for treating daughters and sons as equal.

The SW & SE minister on Tuesday participated in a felicitation program organized for girl children under ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ schemes’ Project ‘MUSKAAN’ organized by Agartala 2 ICDS Project in collaboration with District Administration at Muktodhara Auditorium in the state capital.

Speaking to the reporters, the minister said, “This event highlights the government’s collective commitment in ensuring the girl child’s opportunity to thrive and succeed”.

Highlighting the BJP-led government’s efforts including the launching of schemes like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Roy said, “We must question ourselves about the validity of this age-old perception that daughters are a burden. But today’s experiences and events tell us that daughters are not a burden but pride”.

“Girls like Arshiya, Dipa Karmakar, and many others from the state instead have brought pride for the entire country and not only Tripura. Girls, women represent our country on a global platform. Our Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a woman and it takes pride to mention how gracefully she is doing her job”, he added.

The minister further said, “In India we hear of achievements like the Mangalyaan mission where three women scientists were behind the achievements. This is the power of daughters. Coming out from the distorted mindset, we must educate our daughters and help them in achieving their goals, make them self-reliant and ensure that they become responsible citizens”.

Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor Dipak Majumder, Deputy Mayor Manika Das Datta, Officials of concerned departments remained present at the program.