INDIA 'reluctantly' backed women's reservation bill, says PM; alleges Cong under 'urban Naxals' sway

Bhopal: Kickstarting Madhya Pradesh poll campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Congress and its allies in the new "ghamandia" alliance "reluctantly" supported the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament and warned people that if given an opportunity, they will backtrack on the historic legislation.

Addressing a massive gathering of BJP workers, 'Karyakarta Mahakumb', here, the PM tore into the Congress, equating the national party with "rusted iron" and alleging its functioning has been outsourced to "urban Naxals" and that the organisation is not run by leaders.

He warned the Congress would push Madhya Pradesh back into the 'BIMARU' (laggard) category of states if given an opportunity to rule again.

Modi said the upcoming elections in MP were crucial as they will decide the way ahead for the state, which he said, has been put on path of development by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during its long rule.

The mega gathering of workers was organised on the birth anniversary of Jana Sangh co-founder Deendayal Upadhyaya to mark the formal culmination of the BJP's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatras' that crisscrossed the length and breadth of the state, seeking to connect with voters ahead of polls.

According to a BJP leader, the event was attended by more than five lakh workers.

"The Congress and its allies in the 'ghamandia' (arrogant) bloc (INDIA) supported the Women's Reservation Bill out of compulsion and hesitation as they understood the power of 'nari shakti'. Its passage (in Parliament) became possible as 'Modi hai to Mumkin hai'. Modi means the guarantee of fulfilling guarantees," the PM asserted.

He slammed the Congress and its allies for not ensuring the passage of the long-pending legislation in Parliament when they were in power at the Centre.

If given an opportunity, the Congress will back out on the quota bill that seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, he said.

Modi said the Congress has lost the will power and its workers on the ground have become silent.

"First, the Congress was ruined (electorally) and then it turned bankrupt. The Congress has been now leased out on a contract. They are framing its policies and coining slogans. It is not being run by leaders," the PM said.

He alleged the Congress has been outsourced and "urban Naxals have got the contract".

"They are holding sway in the Congress which is being felt by that party's workers on the ground. The Congress is becoming redundant on the ground," he added.

Modi said he wanted to caution women of Madhya Pradesh as the "ghamandia" (INDIA) alliance has reluctantly supported the women's quota bill.

"Its allies hampered the passage of the bill for the last 30 years. Now they raise their hand out of compulsion as women are awakened. They ran the government for decades with a majority but why they did not push the bill through?" Modi asked.

He said women should remain alert against the efforts to divide them and added the opposition will try to find chinks in the legislation.

Modi said previous governments did precious little for women and listed the works done for them by his government in the last nine years.

“Had their intention been in the women's interest why did Modi have to get crores of toilets built? Why they did not build the toilets? I had to do these works. Women had to wait until night time (to go out to answer nature's call). They did not drop a tear at the women's plight then,” he said.

The PM said his government has provided cooking gas cylinders to women who had to earlier struggle with fuels like cow dung, crops and wood, which would produce toxic smoke and adversely affect their health.

Modi also targeted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi without taking his name, saying for Congress leaders born with a silver spoon, "the life of poor people is like an adventure tourism and picnic and the poor person's agri field is a place for video shooting and photo session." He said first-time voters in Madhya Pradesh are fortunate that they have seen only the BJP rule in the state, which has emerged as a centre of development and education.

For a developed India, rapid growth of Madhya Pradesh is necessary, Modi added.

The PM said for its own political interest, the Congress, which has ruled the country for long after independence, wanted people to remain poor.

On the other hand, 13.5 crore people have come out of poverty in the country under the BJP rule in the last five years, he stated.

"During its rule, the Congress had pushed MP, which is rich in resources, into becoming a BIMARU (laggard) state whereas more than 13.5 crore people came out of poverty under the BJP rule in the last five years in the country," the prime minister said.

The Congress had turned Madhya Pradesh into a BIMARU state, having poor economic and social indicators, during its long rule after Independence. If the national party gets an opportunity to rule the state again, MP will go back to the same category, Modi warned.

He slammed the Congress for criticising the BJP over the construction of a new Parliament building, quality roads and modern stations.

"The Congress spreads negativity. They don't like the achievements of the nation. They want to take the country back to the 20th century," Modi said, adding the country's oldest party destroyed states it ruled through corruption.

He said the Congress had opposed the digital payment system, but today Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has revolutionised how people transact in the country and this has left the world impressed.

After Modi arrived at the stage, a group of BJP's women wing members honoured him with a huge garland for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill.

Continuing its attack on the Congress, the PM said the party has ruined Rajasthan after getting an opportunity to rule the western state, where polls are due by the year-end.

"We saw how the Congress got stitched an alliance and made loot its number one job in Maharashtra," the PM said, referring to the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The PM said the Congress indulges in corruption and politics of vote bank and appeasement.

Before the BJP came to power in Madhya Pradesh, the state was known for lawlessness, rampant power cuts, pathetic roads and shortage of water, he said.

But now, MP is buzzing with development activities as the BJP believes in good governance, asserted the PM.