PM Modi: Passage of Women’s Bill proves majority government needed for country’s progress

Congratulating all women for the passage of the Bill, he asked how the government achieved this and implemented other measures for women’s empowerment. When the women started chanting ‘Modi hai to mumkin (With Modi, it is possible)’ in reply, Modi said that he wanted to correct them: “All this was done not by Modi but by you; by crores of people of the country. Our country elected a majority government. The vote that you gave us helped us to complete important unfinished business.”

He added, “When there is a government with a full majority, the country takes big decisions. We could take such decisions. We did not allow any vested political interests to block the Bill. In the past, efforts were half-hearted. Bad language was also used for women.”

Taking a dig at parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party without naming them, he said, “Those who used to tear up Bills had to support this Bill because of the emergence of women’s power in the country. I trusted your power, and your power made this happen.”

PM Modi also struck a conciliatory chord, thanking all parties for passing the Bill. “There were many hurdles. There were old problems. But when one’s intent is good, results do come. The absolute support the Bill got in Parliament is a record. I thank all political parties and also all MPs for this. Today the country is removing all hurdles coming in the way of mothers and sisters. We made one scheme after another for the same.”

The PM also listed a host of government schemes that, he said, empowered women such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao to check the skew in sex ratio, Ujjawala to offer clean cooking gas, building toilets, providing tap water connections, extending the period of paid maternity leave so that women can continue to work after childbirth, opening the doors of the Army and Sainik Schools for women, joint ownership in PM Awas Yojana houses, opening bank accounts for women under Jan Dhan Yojana, etc.

“Every woman’s self-confidence is touching the sky today. Mothers and daughters are very happy today. We are lucky to have had the good fortune of being able to steer this legislation to passage. This isn’t an ordinary law. It is about the new democratic tradition of India,” he said. “This is proof of fulfilment of the guarantee Modi gave. The BJP had been trying for three decades for this. This was our commitment and we fulfilled it.”

“Socially, instant triple talaq was stopped. Our Muslim sisters got protection from instant triple talaq,” PM Modi said, linking the measure to the empowerment of Muslim women.