West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose Sunday took a dig at the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and said there cannot be “any Kanyashree scheme without kanya’s (girls’) life”. The Governor made the reference to the ruling Trinamool Congress' flagship welfare scheme ‘Kanyashree’ for young girls during a visit to Siliguri where he met the family of the minor girl who was recently murdered. Addressing a press conference after his visit, the Governor said, “We are deeply anguished by the ghastly tragedy which took away the young angel from us in a very cruel manner. This should not happen to any girl child in West Bengal or elsewhere. In my first address in the West Bengal Assembly on February 8, I had declared that our CM will take steps to protect women. I had boasted about the achievements of the Kanyashree programme but there cannot be Kanyashree without kanya’s (girl's) life. Unless society can protect the life of the girl child, what is the point in making tall claims.” Talking about his interaction with the girl’s mother, the Governor said she only wanted that such an incident should not happen with any other girl in the country. “She also told me that this place, maybe because of its proximity to the international borders, has become a den of crime and drug trafficking. What is required is action not an alibi for inaction. There is no point in blaming each other.Let us not play politics with bodies or with the girl's honour,” said Bose. The Governor said the state needs a “multi-pronged approach” to ensure that such incidents do not take place in future. “This kind of criminality in border areas has to stop. The Chicken's Neck corridor is strategically important for us and we cannot allow criminality to increase here,” Bose added,” Bose added. Accompanied by BJP's Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, the Governor visited the girl’s house and assured them of all help. ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’ is a state-sponsored scholarship scheme for girls aged between 13 and 19 years and was rolled out by the TMC in the state in 2014. On Monday (August 21), a 17-year-old girl returning from school was allegedly bludgeoned to death by a 22-year-old man who tried to sexually assault her. The body of the girl, who was from the Gorkha community, was found in a dilapidated house in Matigara area of Siliguri in north Bengal. The accused, Mohammed Abbas, was arrested the next day.
