Varanasi, 28 April (H.S.): Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Nabin has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what he called an “unprecedented” measure of dignity and empowerment extended to women during the last decade. Speaking at the ‘Jan Aakrosh Mahila Sammelan’ held at Bareka Inter‑College ground in Varanasi, Nitin Nabin said that the Prime Minister has conferred on half the country’s population a status and recognition that earlier governments had failed to deliver.

Women’s welfare schemes at the core of the speech

In the presence of Prime Minister Modi, Nitin Nabin lauded flagship schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, under which he claimed that tens of millions of women have been freed from the health hazards of traditional chulhas, and Swachh Bharat‑linked sanitation programmes whose benefits he linked directly to improved dignity for women. He highlighted that whether it was the “each house a toilet” drive or Ujjwala, the outcome was “wiping the tears” of women by lifting their daily burden and improving their health and hygiene.

He argued that the opposition had tried to obstruct such reform‑oriented initiatives, but insisted that whenever the Prime Minister took a pledge, he had fulfilled it. Nabin also cited the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, under which women are now granted ownership rights to houses, as a key step in boosting their social esteem and financial security.

The BJP chief emphasised that women are being empowered not just socially but also economically, through Self‑Help Groups (SHGs), micro‑credit programmes and multiple government schemes that open up new avenues of entrepreneurship. He described the rise of women in fields ranging from artificial intelligence and competitive Olympiads to sports leadership as a historic shift in India’s social fabric.

He credited initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the ban on triple talaq with having given women, especially Muslim women, a stronger sense of security and respect. Such reforms, he said, have allowed daughters and mothers to grow up in an environment where their voice and well‑being carry greater weight.

Nitin Nabin also invoked the symbolism of Kashi (Varanasi), calling it not merely a city or geographic entity but a “living consciousness” that embodies India’s spiritual and cultural ethos. Drawing a parallel between the Ganga, which nourishes the nation’s culture, and women, who build families and societies, he positioned women as the foundational force behind the country’s progress.

The event was attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and several ministers and legislators, underscoring the BJP’s attempt to consolidate its image as the party of women’s empowerment and cultural‑national assertion.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar