Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 21: Even as in Parliament the government agreed to refer to a select committee of the House the bill raising the legal marriage age of the girls, the prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made it his weapon to beat the opposition with and woo women in view of the coming elections to the Uttar Pradesh and a few other state Assemblies early next year.
Modi, who was on a visit to Prayagraj, considered to be the gateway to eastern UP, refer to the bill raising the marriageable age of the girls to 21 years from the present 18 years to take a swipe at his political rivals and claimed that women were all happy over the measure but had “caused pains to some” apparently hitting put at the BJP’s principal rival in UP the Samajwadi Party a section of which had opposed the move.
Speaking at a government function in Prayagraj attended by over two lakh women, Modi said: “The Central government has taken a significant step. Earlier, the age of marriage of women was 18 years. But girls also want to have more time to study and progress. That is why we are trying to increase the age of marriage to 21.” Then, without naming any party, he added, “If anyone has a problem with that, they (the women) are seeing that too”.
Modi also claimed that 25 lakh of the 30 lakh houses given under Prime Minister Awas Yojana were registered in the name of women in UP. This shows the government’s commitment to “sacha [true] empowerment of women”, Modi said.
In an apparent dig at the SP’s former rule in the State, the Prime Minister said, “Five years ago the mafia ruled the roost on the roads of Uttar Pradesh. The worst sufferer were our sisters and daughters. It was difficult for them to move out on roads and go to schools and colleges. But you could say nothing. If you went to police stations, a phone call in favour of rapists and criminals would come. But Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has put these hooligans and criminals in their right place,” he said.
The SP, which was in power from 2012 to 2017, was succeeded by the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh. Hailing the Adityanath Government, the Prime Minister said, “In Uttar Pradesh now there is security, rights and opportunities [for women]. I am confident that with the blessings of our mothers and sisters, no one will push the state back to darkness again. Come let’s take an oath from this pious land of Prayagraj that Uttar Pradesh will progress.” Modi was speaking after participating in a programme where he transferred Rs 1,000 crores to the bank accounts of some self-help groups of about 16 lakh women beneficiaries.
Modi dedicated his Prayagraj visit entirely to showcase his government’s contributions to women’s welfare and defended his government’s big plan to raise the marriage age for women and put it on par with men. The plan has run into trouble with opposition from social workers and political parties forcing the ruling party to agree to refer it to a select committee for further scrutiny of several provisions of the bill. In face of the resistance the government had told the upper house that it was not opposed to parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill.
Two MPs of Samajwadi Party, along with the leaders of the Congress, CPM and several others, has said they would oppose the proposed bill in parliament. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, though, has distanced himself from the issue, saying the SP is a “progressive party”.
Soon after Modi’s address, the Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who lately had been concentrating in eastern UP, said, “What did I say to the women of UP? To use their power, now even Modi has bent a knee. Why didn’t he announce this in the last five years? Why now, before elections? Women have woken up with our ‘Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ slogan,” she claimed.
In his 10th visit to the election-bound UP, Modi said from improvement of law and order to education and finance, women’s empowerment was a priority for the government. “Women have realised that they no longer want to be confined to their homes, they no longer want to go back to how things used to be. Hence, they know not to bring back previous governments in the state who did nothing for them. Today, women know which party works for their benefit,” he added.
Referring to his favourite “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign for the welfare of women, Modi said the number of girls has increased in many states due to the campaign. He also said his government has focused on immunization of pregnant women, delivery in hospitals and nutrition during pregnancy. “Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Rs 5,000 is deposited in the bank accounts of women during pregnancy, so that they can take care of proper diet,” Modi said. He said Prayagraj being the confluence of three major rivers, Ganga-Yamuna-Saraswati, has become the “symbol of our mother power for thousands of years.”
