Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath on Sunday apologised for the government advertisement released on the National Girl Child Day carrying a photo of ex-Pakistan Air Force chief Tanvir Ahmed along with that of Manmohan Singh & Sonia Gandhi.
Addressing the media, the minister, who had earlier evaded media on this issue, this time said that she was not able to recognise the officer, and hence the mistake was committed.
"Whatever happened was a mistake. Somewhere something went wrong. I regret it. I apologise for it on behalf my ministry," Tirath told reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the National Girl Child Day.
Tirath had earlier said that the picture in the advertisement was not “important” but the “message” which it conveyed.
Tirath, while acknowledging the mistake, assured that appropriate action will be taken against the erring official(s).
The controversial government advertisement on ‘female foeticide’ that appeared in leading national dailies on the occasion of ‘National Girl Child Day’, had kicked up a national storm.
Former PAF chief Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed’s photograph appeared in the advertisement along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath, and cricketers Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag causing huge embarrasment to the government.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement and tendered an apology for the inclusion of photograph of a "foreign national" in the government advertisement on girl child.
The PMO has also ordered an internal inquiry into the lapse.
The advertisement was released by Krishna Tirath’s Ministry and prepared by government agency, the DAVP.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi also acknowledged the error, saying “it was a mistake”.
First Published: Monday, January 25, 2010, 00:09