Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Tuesday that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar has brought women out of the shadow of helplessness and fear.
Addressing a press conference held in Patna, Irani said she was saddened that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has appealed to the Election Commission to “withhold” the benefits of welfare schemes related to women in Bihar.
He said, “More than three crore women of Bihar have benefited from the Jan Dhan Yojana and 1.16 crore women have benefited from the Ujjwala scheme. We have also seen that the promise of constructing toilets in every household has been fulfilled.”
Irani said, “It is a matter of pain for me that on one hand the NDA government is transferring money directly into the accounts of women beneficiaries of Bihar, while on the other hand RJD leaders have given a written proposal to the Election Commission demanding to stop these benefits.”
It is noteworthy that RJD MP Manoj Jha had written a letter to the Election Commission on October 31 alleging that the Bihar government had transferred funds to women under the Chief Minister Mahila Rozgar Yojana on October 17, 24 and 31 in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
Irani said that the NDA government in Bihar has so far sent an amount of Rs 10,000 each to the accounts of 1.3 crore women and in future a target has been set to give a total of Rs 2 lakh to each beneficiary.
“The NDA government has not only given direct economic assistance to women to make them self-reliant, but has also passed the historic Women’s Reservation Bill to ensure political participation of women,” he said.
Irani said that despite the opposition parties’ opposition, the BJP leadership has proved its commitment towards the respect and empowerment of women by passing the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.“This dedication towards the upliftment of women is not limited to mere announcements, but is visible on the ground in the form of direct benefit transfers and policy decisions,” she said.
Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, while the counting of votes will be done on November 14.
