Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made a pitch for having a “strong Government with majority”, saying this made the Parliamentary approval for the long-pending idea possible as he told women BJP workers and MPs here that the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ is not an ordinary law but a proclamation of the “New India’s democratic commitment.” He also said the passing of the women reservation bill an evidence of Modi’s guarantee of women-led development”.
Addressing an event organised by the BJP’s ‘Mahila Morcha’ to felicitate him for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, Modi said it was the BJP’s good fortune that its Government got the opportunity to pass the Bill.
Having reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was talked about for nearly three decades, he noted, adding that the earlier efforts lacked commitment and women were even insulted.
The Prime Minister also made a pitch for having a strong Government with majority, saying “this made the parliamentary approval for the long-pending idea possible.”
“Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam ka duno sadanon se pass hona , is baat ka bhi sakshi hain ki jab purn bahumat wali isthir sarkar hoti hain, to desh kese bade phaisla leta hain, bade padavon ko paar karta hain”, the Prime Minister said, adding earlier Governments make superficial efforts because they “did not have intention to pass it”.
Asserting that his Government worked to empower women, who have emerged as a power over the last one decade, Modi said that is why the political parties that used to tear copies of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament had to support it — a jibe at parties, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party (SP).
Every party had to support it, he saying “ jo Bill phada karte they , unko bhi is adhiniyam ka samarthan karna pada”, Modi said amidst claps and cheers from women MPs.
The Prime Minister said it was the BJP’s good fortune that its Government got the opportunity to pass the Bill.
Some decisions have the power to change a country’s fate, he said, describing the proposed law as one such measure that will infuse new confidence among women and multiply India’s strength to advance.
The Constitution amendment bill will soon become law after the president’s assent and the subsequent notification -- a procedural formality.
A new history was made on September 20 and 21, Modi said, referring to the days the bill was passed first by the Lok Sabha and then by the Rajya Sabha. “It was our good fortune that people gave this government the chance to do so,” he said.
This is a proof of fulfilling “Modi’s guarantee” that he will usher in a new era of women-led development, he said amid loud cheers from the large number of women present at the BJP headquarters.
A large number of women, including beneficiaries of several government schemes, were present at the party office to greet him. Modi bowed to a group of beneficiaries, who garlanded and blessed him.
BJP president J P Nadda and women Union ministers, including Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani, and other party leaders were present on the occasion. Nadda described the bill’s passage as historic and credited Modi’s foresight and resolve for the feat.