Bachchan longs for grandson, draws NGO's ire

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's recent statement that his son should quickly marry and produce a male child drew flak from an NGO which said such remarks would encourage gender discrimination and female foeticide.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's recent statement that his son should produce a male child today drew flak from an NGO which said such remarks would encourage gender discrimination and female foeticide.

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Terming the statement as unfortunate, Savera, a society for social awareness, said this would only add to the problem of already skewed sex ratio in the country.

"Moreover, such a statment will further encourage gender discrimination and female foeticide," Avnish Ohri, president of Savera, said in a release here.

"This was never expected from a person of the stature of Amitabh Bachchan and that too at a time when the government and the NGOs have waged a war against the social evil of female foeticide," he said.

On Sunday, Bachchan said in temple town Varanasi that he wanted his son Abhishek to marry soon and father a son.

"If Bachchan had given this statement unwittingly, then he should immediately withdraw it. If the statement had been made intentionally, then the state must act against him for promoting the birth of male children," Ohri said.