NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited a host of women-centric schemes of his government to assert that only a society which boosts women's standing and creates opportunities for them can advance.
While addressing the 'Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat' programme here, Modi exuded confidence of retaining power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and said his third term will write a new chapter on the rise of women power.
In a swipe at previous governments, he said women's lives and hardships were not a priority for them while the BJP dispensation has come out with different initiatives to help them at every stage of life.
Modi said he is the first prime minister who spoke of a host of issues related to women, including lack of toilets, use of sanitary pads, adverse effects of smoke-causing kitchen fuels like wood and coal, and the need for bank accounts from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a reference to his Independence Day speeches.
“I am the first prime minister who raised the issue of sanitary pads from the Red Fort. I am the first prime minister who said from the Red Fort that our mothers and sisters, who use wood in the kitchen, tolerate the smoke 400 cigarettes every day and take it into their bodies," he said.
He further said he is the first prime minister who mentioned the problems faced by all women due to the lack of tap water at home and announced the Jal Jeevan Mission for this.
"I am the first prime minister who spoke from the Red Fort on the need for every woman to have a bank account. I am the first prime minister who raised the issue of derogatory words spoken against you women from the Red Fort," he said.
Modi said political parties like the Congress made fun of him and insulted him for this.
He asserted that what he saw at his home, in his neighbourhood and villages during his travels shaped his sensibilities and schemes for women.
"Whenever I talked about your empowerment from the Red Fort, unfortunately political parties like Congress made fun of me and insulted me”, PM Modi said.
He said over INR 8 lakh crore has been disbursed among women under various government schemes and over one crore women have become 'Lakhpati Didis' so far.
The prime minister also said his experience has been that a little help to women can make them help others. Politicians who are only concerned about their families can never understand this, he said.
"Dynastic leaders who think only about their families cannot understand all this. The idea of liberating crores of mothers and sisters of the country from difficulties has been the basis of many schemes of our government," he said.
Calling the event a historic occasion, as 'Drone Didis' and 'Lakhpati Didis' are scripting new chapters of success, Modi said it gave him confidence to "embark on the journey of creating three crore lakhpati didis".
Modi also disbursed around INR 8,000 crore in the programme as bank loans to self-help groups (SHGs) at subsidised interest rate through bank linkage camps set up by banks in each district.
He interacted with women beneficiaries from different parts of the country, enquired about various aspects of their efforts and lauded their hard work and determination.
Modi also felicitated 'Lakhpati Didis' who have achieved success with the support of the 'Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission' and are supporting the upliftment of other SHG members.
During the event, he handed over drones to 1,000 'Namo Drone Didis', women chosen to operate drones for agriculture and related purposes. A drone demonstration was also done by Namo Drone Didis from 10 different locations nationwide.
He also disbursed about INR 2,000 crore Capitalisation Support Fund to SHGs.
The 'Namo Drone Didi' and 'Lakhpati Didi' initiatives are integral to the prime minister's vision of fostering economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women, especially in rural areas, the Prime Minister's Office had said earlier in a statement.
Union ministers Arjun Munda, Mansukh Mandaviya and Giriraj Singh were among those present on the occasion.