Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcased his government’s commitments 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.
Speaking at a government function in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, attended by over two lakh women, PM 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. 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”.
Two MPs of the Samajwadi Party, alongside the heads of the Congress, CPM, and a few others, have said they would go against the proposed bill in parliament. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, however, has removed himself from the issue, saying the SP is a “progressive party”.
In face of the obstruction, sources demonstrated that the public authority may change its stand. The public authority isn’t against the parliamentary examination of the Bill, sources said. The select board of trustees can go through the arrangements of the Bill, a senior clergyman has said.
Prayagraj – -seen as the gateway to eastern Uttar Pradesh — is one of the areas where Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had a strong voter base. The Congress, led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has also been active in the area with its women-centric campaign.
“What did I say to the women of UP? To use their power, now even PM Modi has bent a knee,” Ms Gandhi Vadra was quoted as saying after the Prime Minister’s address today.
“For what reason didn’t he declare this over the most recent five years? Why now, before races? Ladies have woken up with our ‘Ladki hoon, fellow Sakti hoon’ trademark,” she added, alluding to the present occasion, where the Prime Minister started the exchange of ₹ 1,000 crores to Self Help Groups under Central plans that are relied upon to benefit around 16 lakh ladies.
In what was his tenth day in Uttar Pradesh in the course of the last month in front of decisions, PM Modi said from progress of the rule of law to instruction and money, ladies’ strengthening is vital for the public authority.
“Till five years ago, there was mafia-raj and goonda raj in Uttar Pradesh. The biggest sufferers were women. But you could say nothing. If you went to police stations, a phone call in favor of rapists and criminals would come. But Yogi has put the criminals in their place,” he said.
“Women have realized 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
