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WOMEN’S RESERVATION: Over 1 lakh Muslim women from Uttar Pradesh to send “thank you” letters to Modi
The drive is part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts to galvanise the community’s women to thank the PM for steps like Women’s Reservation and a host of other measures, including making triple talaq, the instant divorce practice, punishable under law.
Over a lakh Muslim women from Uttar Pradesh will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the “Dhanyawad Modi” campaign that would start across the state after October 15.
The drive is part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts to galvanise the community’s women to thank the PM for steps like Women’s Reservation and a host of other measures, including making triple talaq, the instant divorce practice, punishable under law.
The “Dhanyawad Modi” campaign is set to start from Meerut. It would overlap another campaign by the party’s minority wing -- “the NaMo Mitra (friends of PM Modi)” meets that will possibly begin from Saharanpur, party leaders said to HT.
Uttar Pradesh BJP general secretary (organization) Dharampal Singh has also directed that the “Dhanyawad Modi” proposal be also passed in all boards in urban local bodies and panchayats, where the BJP has a majority now.
Singh is also touring the state to prepare for six women meets that the party proposes to hold across Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is currently in the middle of a women outreach campaign. It intends to hold several women outreach campaigns to highlight the Women’s Reservation Act, ensuring 33% reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies. UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, too, has been touring the state to keep the party machinery in a “ready and activated” position.
Though the Act’s actual implementation would be delayed until a time-consuming fresh census and delimitation exercise take place, the fact that the women’s quota has finally emerged from being stuck in poll promises and political debates and is now real, would be played up by the party through ‘Dhanyawad Modi’ initiatives.
Zafreen Mahjabin, BJP’s national in-charge of policy and research in party’s women wing, has written to party leaders in Uttar Pradesh in this regard. Mahjabin is also the national in-charge for the “Shukriya Modi” campaign. Shukriya is an Urdu word to thank.
Involving Muslim women in the “Shukriya” initiative is part of the BJP plan.
Muslim women would write letters thanking PM Modi and these letters would be routed to him PM through district magistrates in each district where all thank you letters would be submitted. Letters of support to PM Modi by women would also put up for mass display through hoardings in districts.
The “Dhanyawad Modi” campaign across the state would start after October 15. By then, the party is expected to ready a list of in-charges for these campaigns at the regional, district and state levels.
“We hope that at least one lakh Muslim women would write to PM. The popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi among all sections of the society, including women in general and Muslim women in particular, is at an all-time high. The community women have benefitted in so many ways under Modiji’s stewardship. These Dhanyawad Modi campaigns will witness spontaneous outflow of emotions for the charismatic PM,” said Javed Malik, BJP’s minority wing in-charge from west U.P. The women wing leaders of the party are also to hold press conferences in each district.
The party will also take up ‘NaMo Mitra’ campaigns to connect with targeted groups. In each assembly segment, BJP’s minority wing has been tasked with making at least “1000 Modi Mitras.”
Alisha Siddiqui, a BJP Muslim wing leader from Bijnor, described herself as a “Modi Mitra”. She said that many women, like her, have already begun connecting with the community.
“So much has been done for women that irrespective of their caste or community they will vote for the BJP in a big way, all due to PM Modi,” said Siddiqui.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Modi had repeatedly cited initiatives like making the instant divorce practice of triple talaq punishable by law, across minority dominated regions and now, the women quota too would be played up big time in poll rallies, party leaders said.
