Union minister Savitri Thakur misspells 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' slogan; Oppn questions her qualification

The video of the incident is being shared widely on social media

A video of Union minister and BJP leader Savitri Thakur is going viral across social media platforms as she failed to write the slogan 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' correctly in Hindi. Instead of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Thakur wrote 'Bedhi Padao Bachav' on a whiteboard during her visit to a school in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district.

Thakur, who is a Lok Sabha member from Dhar seat, is the Minister of State for Women and Child Development. She won from the Dhar constituency in 2024 Lok Sabha polls after defeating Congress' Radheshyam Muvel by a margin of 2.18 lakh votes.

The video of the incident is being shared widely on social media and has drawn criticism from internet users as well as Opposition alike.

Reacting to the viral video, senior Congress leader KK Mishra said, "It is the misfortune of democracy that people who hold constitutional posts and are responsible for big departments are not competent even in their mother tongue. How can they be capable of running their ministry?" He said the Constitution should be amended to fix the minimum educational qualification of candidates in the elections.

"On the one hand, the country's citizens are being claimed to be literate, while on the other hand, there is lack of literacy among the responsible people. So what is the truth? This is an issue related to the system and not to any individual," he added.

This is Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur.

She had to write the slogan 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' on the education awareness chariot in the district.

But, the minister wrote - "Bedhi Padao Bacchav"

According to the election affidavit, she… pic.twitter.com/qF4agEtwYX

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Launched in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme is aimed at preventing the decline in child sex ratio throughout the life cycle and addresses issues related to women empowerment. The scheme is being implemented by three ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development.

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Dhar district BJP president Manoj Somani, meanwhile, defended Thakur and accused the Congress of harbouring "petty and anti-tribal thinking".

"Savitri ji's feelings and sentiments are pure, but Congressmen are not able to keep their sentiments pure. The tribal community will not forgive the insult of a tribal woman," he said.