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Govt with strong majority a must to effect change: PM
PM renewed his pitch for his party to be voted back to power in 2024 Lok Sabha polls after the women's reservation bill was passed in both houses of Parliament.
A “strong and stable government” at the Centre ensured that the women’s reservation bill was passed in both houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, renewing the pitch for his party to be voted back to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections a day after the 106th amendment to the Constitution to reserve a third of the seats in the Lower House and state legislatures for women was approved.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is not an ordinary law, but a proclamation of new India’s democratic commitment, the Prime Minister said in his address to party workers at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters on Friday.
“This is an evidence of Modi’s guarantee of women-led development,” the PM said. “The passage of the bill in both houses is proof that if there is a majority government in the country, important decisions can be taken. We never let anyone’s political self-interests obstruct women’s reservation.”
A landmark endorsement of a decades-long crusade that was unsuccessful on at least six occasions over nearly three decades, the bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha with a 454-2 voting tally on Wednesday. On Thursday, all of the Rajya Sabha’s 214 voting members supported the legislation, with no one opposing or abstaining after the House spent 11 hours debating the matter.
READ | Nadda says passage of women’s reservation bill ‘historic’, credits PM Modi
The legislation was stuck in Parliament for the last three decades due to the indecisiveness of previous governments, Modi said, and congratulated all women for the overwhelming support that the bill received in Parliament. “This decision and this day will be discussed for many generations to come.”
The country witnessed the creation of “new history”, he said. “Sometimes a decision has the potential to change the destiny of a country. Today we all have become witnesses of one such decision. I congratulate the entire country for passing the Nari Shakti Vandan Act with an overwhelming majority in both the houses of Parliament,” Modi added amid loud cheers.
In his 30-minute-long address, the PM targeted previous governments that “kept deliberating on the bill for three decades”. but this time “all parties across the political divide voted in support of the bill in the new Parliament House”.
READ | Modi: Positive outlook by parties will infuse new energy in women
“It was made possible because of the millions of Indians who voted for a full majority government that is stable and strong,” the PM said as BJP workers gathered at the headquarters shouted the party’s poll slogan of “Modi hai toh mumkin hai” (Modi makes it possible).
The bill was the first piece of legislation to be cleared in the new Parliament building, which was opened for legislative business for the first time during the special session that ended on Thursday.
“There were many obstacles in the way of this Women’s Reservation Bill. But when intentions are pure and there is transparency in attempts, then we witness results overcoming all obstacles. It is a record in itself that this bill got so much support in Parliament. I thank all political parties and MPs for it,” Modi said.
“Even the parties that used to tear copies of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament had to support it this time because women have emerged as a major force over the last 10 years,” he added in what appeared to be an attack on parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party.
The RJD and the SP are part of the 28-member Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc that has banded together to take on the BJP-led NDA in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. They both supported the bill in Parliament this week.
“Today the country is removing every obstacle faced by mothers, sisters and daughters,” Modi said, as he went on to list all the women-centric policies and schemes introduced by his government over the last nine years, including the flagship Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme (for women’s education), the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (for women’s education and marriage expenses) and the Ujjwala Yojana (for free and subsidised gas cylinders). He also said that the BJP government successfully brought a law to end the “social evil” of Triple Talaq.
During the event, Modi was felicitated by the women workers of the BJP who had thronged at the party headquarters to greet him.
Also addressing the function, BJP president JP Nadda congratulated Modi for the successful passage of the women’s reservation bill and said that with foresight and strong intentions, the Prime Minister has got the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill passed in record time.
“Historically significant decisions are being made under the leadership of PM Modi. These decisions, focused on empowering women, will lead to a change in the landscape and destiny of India,” Nadda said, adding that several steps have been taken for the empowerment of women. “Along with this, PM Modi has also resolved the long pending problems in the country in a democratic manner,” Nadda said.
