Invoking the goddess Durga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reaffirmed his government’s irrevocable commitment to the empowerment of women.
Reaching out to the people of West Bengal during the state’s largest festival, the prime minister said that although it was being celebrated on a limited scale due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the “enthusiasm remains unlimited.”
Noting that the goddess Durga was worshiped as a symbol of ‘Shakti’ (strength), Modi said that her government was constantly working for the empowerment of women.
“From the opening of Jan Dhan accounts for women of Rs 22 million, granting soft loans under the Mudra Yojana, to the launch of the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao initiative, granting a permanent commission to women in the armed forces and extending the maternity leave of 12 to 26 weeks, they have taken a series of steps towards their empowerment, ”she said at a meeting at the Durga Puja celebration organized by the BJP.
He also said anti-rape laws were tightened to include the death penalty.
“We are attentive to the safety of women,” he said.
The prime minister’s comment came in the context of a series of incidents of rape and murder of women, including the Hathras incident that shocked the nation and sparked outrage against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.
The prime minister recalled the contributions of Bengal reformers such as Ram Mohun Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, spiritual leaders Ramkrishna Paramhans and Swami Vivekananda, cultural giant Rabindranath Tagore, and revolutionaries such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Syama Prasad Mookerjee and India’s Khudiram Bose. in shaping. identity.
Durga Puja, he said, was the epitome of pluralism and reflected the collective strength of India.
The BJP had made elaborate arrangements to watch the prime minister’s virtual speech live from the national capital.
The event was televised live at more than 78,000 polling places in the state’s 294 electoral districts.
Assembly elections are likely to be held in West Bengal between April and May next year.
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