New paths for women's development will open: PM Modi on quota Bill

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that a new path for the development of women has opened for women with the passage of the Women Reservation Bill in Parliament. PM Modi said this development had resulted in increased excitement for the Navratri festival.

Addressing a public rally in Varanasi, PM Narendra Modi said, "Women's Reservation Bill has increased the excitement for Navratri. New paths for women's development will open. I congratulate all the women of India for it. Women's leadership may be a modern approach for the rest of the world, but we are people who worship Goddess Parvati and Mother Ganga before Lord Shiva."

Adding that the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in Parliament with record votes, PM Modi said, "This MP from your Kashi has got this good fortune due to your blessings."

"Varanasi is the birthplace of warriors like Rani Lakshmi Bai. From Rani Lakshmi Bai in the independence struggle to women in Chandrayaan-3, we have proven in every era what women's leadership is. This (Women's Reservation Bill) law was pending for 30 years, but now it is passed in both houses of the parliament. Parties who had been opposing it also had to come in support of it," PM Modi said.

The Parliament on Thursday passed a historic legislation to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Wednesday in the Parliament's Special Session with 454 members voting in favour of the legislation and two against it. The Rajya Sabha passed the Women's Reservation Bill unanimously on Thursday with 214 members voting in support and none against.

PM Modi further emphasized that the respect for women has increased due to women-centric policies being implemented by the BJP.

"During the BJP rule, 75000 'pakka' houses are given under PM Awas Yojana in Varanasi. Most of these houses are registered under the names of women. We had a culture of getting property in the name of the men. But BJP started a tradition of registering property under the name of the women. In Kashi, thousands of women have their own homes. This has increased their respect in society. From sports to flying the Rafale, our daughters are doing wonders," PM Modi said.

"More than 2 lakh 30 thousand women have got the benefit of Ujjwala scheme in Varanasi. The women beneficiaries of this scheme are now also getting a subsidy of Rs 400 per cylinder from the government," he added.

PM Modi also targeted the opposition parties over this bill and said," It is a visionary legislation. What will these people (opposition) do if they don't understand the meaning of 'Nari ka Vandan'? But we will continue focussing on our goals."

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency.PM Modi greeted people as he reached the venue of the event in Varanasi.

Former Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, Rajeev Shukla, BCCI Vice-President were among those present. The international cricket stadium in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh will be a step towards realising the Prime Minister's vision to develop modern world-class sports infrastructure.

The modern international cricket stadium will be developed in an area of more than 30 acres at a cost of about Rs 450 crore. The thematic architecture of this stadium draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with designs developed for crescent-shaped roof covers, trident-shaped floodlights, ghat steps-based seating, and Bilvipatra-shaped metallic sheets on the facade. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000 spectators.