Promise to end female foeticide if you want quota, Narendra Modi told Jats

The state of Haryana has the lowest rate of sex ratio in India and the figures show the ratio of 877 of females to 1,000 of males.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of the two day National Executive Meeting in Bengaluru on Friday. (Source: PTI)

When a 70-member Jat delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 26 over quashing of the OBC quota for the community by the Supreme Court, he stumped them over by seeking a commitment or a promise in return for the government’s efforts to restore the benefits.

“You have come here seeking my support. But I want to extract a promise of you,” Modi is learnt to have told the Jat leaders from different states. The Jat leaders were stunned and wanted to know what exactly was on the PM’s mind. The PM insisted on a commitment first. When the Jat leaders relented, Modi said, “I want you to put an end to female foeticide and killing of daughters.” The Jat delegation was taken aback: the PM had sought their support to put an end to a social malaise, in lieu of a political favour.

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On Thursday, Modi himself narrated this instance during his address to BJP office bearers to drive home the point on the need to link the party volunteers to change the society as well and to transform the political activities into social movement.

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A senior BJP leader said the Jat leaders then informed the Khap Panchayat about the PM’s request. The state of Haryana has the lowest rate of sex ratio in India and the figures show the ratio of 877 of females to 1,000 of males.

The PM recently launched twin programmes — “Beti bachao, beti padhao” and “Sukanya Samriddhi account” — in Panipat, in BJP-ruled Haryana. He had specifically chosen the location in a bid to sensitise the people and encourage birth and education of girls and tackle the abysmally low child sex ratio in the region.

Modi had also made an emotional appeal in Panipat and termed the practice of female foeticide as a “mental illness” and if it did not stop, it would result in a terrible crisis.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer is The Indian Express’s Managing Editor, and leads the newspaper’s reporting across the country. He writes on India’s political economy, and works closely with reporters exploring investigation in subjects where business and politics intersect. He was earlier the Resident Editor in Mumbai driving Maharashtra’s political and government coverage. He joined the newspaper in April 2008 as its National Business Editor in Delhi, reporting and leading the economy and policy coverage. He has won several accolades including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award twice, the KC Kulish Award of Merit, and the Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting and Analysis. A member of the Pulitzer-winning International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Vaidyanathan worked on several projects investigating offshore tax havens. He co-authored Panama Papers: The Untold India Story of the Trailblazing Offshore Investigation, published by Penguin. ... Read More

Liz Mathew

Have been in journalism covering national politics for 23 years. Have covered six consecutive Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in almost all the states. Currently writes on ruling BJP. Always loves to understand what's cooking in the national politics (And ventures into the act only in kitchen at home). ... Read More

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