An Indian minister says he is concerned that the whole population will become gay if gender balance trends continue.

Farooq Abdullah, the minister for new and renewable energy, was commenting on new Census figures which show that the ratio of female children to male children is the lowest since India gained independence.

In 2001, there were 927 female children aged 0-six years for every 1,000 male children of the same age. In 2011, this dropped to 914 females for every 1,000 males.

Addressing the India Water Forum in New Delhi, Mr Abdullah said: “The male sex is growing and women are getting eliminated. The days are not far when there will be no girls to marry and we’ll all become gays.”

According to the IANS news agency, he continued: “We never told people the truth, sometimes truth is bitter, we may not win elections but time has come when we must tell people, what is right.

“And the truth is the population is growing at a much faster rate and fortunately male sex is growing faster and women are being eliminated, I don’t know whether the time will come.

“We will all become gays, that might happen.”