Says “Vision of gender equality was a cornerstone of the new Parliament building’s inception
“Passage of Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023 was a step towards correcting 40-year injustice to women”
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the opposition parties of blocking women’s entry into parliament thr, claiming that these “Pariwarvaadi” parties fear losing their grip on power if grassroots female leaders rise to the top.
Adressing a gathering during the Mahila Samelan in Varanasi, PM Modi said, “These ‘Pariwarvaadi’ parties do not want to allow the daughters of the country in the Assembly and Parliament. They know that if the daughters working on the ground rise to the top, their control will be lost. Their power will be questioned. That is why the ‘Pariwarvaadi’ parties have been at the forefront of the protests in Parliament. The sisters and daughters of the country have recognised their evil intentions.”The Prime Minister highlighted that the vision of gender equality was a cornerstone of the new Parliament building’s inception, noting that the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023 was a step toward correcting a 40-year injustice towards women. “The idea of women’s participation was a major reason behind the formation of the country’s new Parliament. When the new Parliament was built, our first action was to provide 33% reservation to women. For 40 years, this right of such women had been blocked. That’s why we got the Nari Shakti Vandan Act passed in Parliament in 2023,” he told the gathering. Emphasising that the recent parliamentary discussions were intended to expedite this Bill, PM Modi targeted opposition parties for not supporting the Constitutional (131st Amendment) Bill, claiming that these parties are “afraid of women” reaching mainstream politics. “This amendment was such that after this, more women would have been able to reach the Assembly and Parliament. Parties like Congress, Samajwadi Party, TMC, and DMK have once again betrayed the women of the country. These parties had put the brake on women’s reservation for 40 years. Now the Samajwadi Party has again shown a red flag to it. The truth is that all these family-oriented and appeasement-oriented parties are afraid of women’s power. They are afraid of all of you,” he said. At a special session of the Parliament held on April 16-18, a constitutional amendment to the law on reservation of seats for women in parliament and state assemblies- the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill- was defeated in Lok Sabha. It failed to win the two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional amendment. The opposition rejected linking women’s reservation to expanding the size of the Lok Sabha and a delimitation of constituencies. “Today, I have come to this program to seek blessings from all of you sisters and daughters for the beginning of a Maha Yagya. As the MP of Kashi, as the Prime Minister of the country, I need your blessings to achieve a major goal for the welfare of the country. And this major goal is to implement reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. Just a few days ago, due to parties like the Samajwadi Party and Congress, our efforts in Parliament were not successful. But I reassure all of you sisters. I will leave no stone unturned to ensure that your reservation rights are implemented,” PM Modi added. Turning to the issue of safety and governance, the Prime Minister drew a sharp contrast between the current BJP government and the previous SP regime in Uttar Pradesh. He claimed that under the Samajwadi Party’s rule, daughters faced difficulty in “stepping out of their homes”.”Under the BJP government, anyone harbouring negative thoughts against daughters knows exactly what the consequences will be. Bhartiya Nyan Sanhita has also given sisters and daughters a new confidence in their safety. Under this initiative, decisions in serious crimes against women are being made more quickly.”He referred to the high voter turnout in Assam, Keralam, Puducherry, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu in Assembly polls this months, claiming that women voted to show their anger towards the opposition. “Sisters have cast record votes. The parties opposing women’s reservation have no idea that this vote of the sisters was to punish these anti-women parties,” he said. He highlighted that a network of women’s police stations and counselling centres is also expanding, adding that “Work has begun today on a new women’s police station and counselling centre building here. Such steps guarantee the safety of daughters.”Noting the success of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, which was launched two years ago in Varanasi, he said, “At that time, in just one month, Sukanya Samriddhi accounts were opened for 27,000 girls in Kashi, and Rs 300 was transferred to each girl’s bank account. “For the first time, property has been registered in the names of millions of girls. Most of the houses under the PM Awas Yojana are also in the name of women. Today, our mother and sister truly deserve to be the owners of their own homes,” he added. Emphasing that the BJP-NDA government’s mantra remains “Nagrik Devo Bhava”, he asserted that education, income, medicine, irrigation, and hearing for the citizens are their priorities. During the event, PM Modi also inaugrated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth around Rs 6,350 crore in Varanasi.
