Passage of women’s quota Bill win for democracy and BJP’s ideology too: PM

New Delhi: The passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill is not only a win for democracy but for the BJP’s ideology too, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, asserting that without their proper participation in politics one cannot talk about inclusive society and democratic integration.

Addressing a BJP event after unveiling a 72-foot tall statue of Deendayal Upadhyaya on his birth anniversary here, Modi said his government has worked on the party ideologue’s philosophy of “integral humanism” and “antyodaya” (uplift of the most downtrodden) by working to ensure its welfare schemes reach all without any discrimination.

The Women’s Reservation Bill is an extension of Upadhyaya’s ideology of integral humanism, Modi asserted, lauding him for choosing his duties to the nation above personal, family responsibilities.

The government has been making efforts to ensure its welfare schemes’ complete saturation in terms of its reach, ruling out any appeasement and selfish interest, he said.

Our “seva abhiyaan” (service campaign) is a major means of social justice and this is what is true secularism, the prime minister said.

For long, public resources were used for personal interests, he said in a jibe at political rivals, stressing that personal resources instead should be used to open the door of the country’s development and emphasised on the promotion of indigenous products to make his point.

Noting that India has been lauded by the world for its Chandrayaan mission and its organisation of the G20 events, he said the country did it without changing its values and instead presented them with pride to everyone. This is what Upadhyaya spoke about, he said.

The co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the earlier avatar of the BJP, sacrificed everything for the nation, Modi said, adding that if he has not suddenly died under mysterious circumstances, then the country’s fortunes would have changed for better decades ago.

Upadhyaya died at the age of 51. His body was found outside Mughalsarai train station (now named after him) in Uttar Pradesh and investigators had then blamed robbers for his murder. The BJP has often questioned this version.