West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said that the West Bengal government's 'Kanyasree' scheme of has become a "brand" and 'Kanyasree Divas' will one day be celebrated across the globe as the International Girl Child Day.
'Kanyasree' is now a brand and it is "written in golden words" across the globe, she said at a programme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of 'Kanyasree Divas' here.
"I believe that this day will be celebrated as the International Girl Child's Day in future," she said and recounted the "proud moment" when she received the United Nations Public Services Award (UNPSA) in 2017 for the scheme beating several other countries from around the globe who had participated in the competition.
"I felt so proud when we won the award. I prepared the logo. The theme song for the Kanyasree Prakalpa was written and tuned by me," she reminisced.
The scheme is a conditional cash transfer scheme for adolescent girls aged 13 to 19 years from economically backward families in West Bengal to prevent their marriage before they turn 18. It was launched by 2012.
'Kanyasree Prakalpa' has also won accolades both in the national and international fora for its good governance.
Banerjee said Bengal should keep moving forward and not allow others to stop its progress.
Referring to Bengal's contribution to the country's freedom struggle, its rich culture and merit, she said "It was from here that the renaissance and struggle for country's freedom had started. If you visit the Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Island you will see that 90 per cent of the names of freedom fighters are from Bengal and the rest are from Punjab".
"Bengal's culture and merit must keep moving forward. Nobody can stop or threat Bengal. We will surprise others by developing Bengal," she said.
Bengal must become the center of communal harmony where people of all religions can co-exist, Banerjee added.
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