Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal, alleging that women in poll-bound Bihar had suffered immensely under the regional party’s rule, and urged them to ensure that the Lalu Prasad-led outfit and its allies never return to power in the state.
He was speaking online from Delhi after launching the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, an initiative of the Bihar government under which 7.5 million women got ₹10,000 each in their bank accounts for starting their own venture. The outlay of the scheme was ₹7,500 crore, part of a mega welfare push by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government ahead of elections likely to be announced next month.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Lalan Singh were also present. Women, who make up around 48% of the state population, are a key electoral demographic in Bihar and are credited for the political longevity of Kumar.
Modi said that Kumar had moved Bihar towards brightness, leaving behind its dark past, when decrepit roads, missing bridges and culverts and fear due to Maoist violence and carnages affected women the most.
“Our government has worked hard to pull you out of that situation. There is an exhibition depicting newspaper clippings of the RJD period and that is itself enough to make one shudder. You all must visit the exhibition to have a feel of the distance you all have covered. Even doctors and engineers were not spared in the RJD regime. You have to keep them at bay if you want to protect your children,” he added.
Highlighting the various women-centric schemes of the Centre and the state, Modi said that transferring such a big amount fully and directly in the bank accounts of mothers and sisters would not have been possible without the Jan-Dhan scheme launched 11 years ago.
“You will get full ₹10,000 in your accounts, unlike earlier when a PM said that merely 15 paisa of ₹1 sent by the Centre reached the targeted beneficiary. It is a big step of the Nitish government to add wings to mothers and sisters and it will also lend strength to Centre’s Lakhpati Didi by making Bihar a state with maximum Lakhpati Didis,” he added.
Modi said that all the brothers have a desire to see their sisters happy, healthy and economically sound. “This is exactly what your two brothers – Modi and Nitish Kumar – are striving to do. When I got to know of the scheme, I was very impressed with its vision, as it involves one woman from each family. After the ₹10,000 seed money, you can avail up to ₹2 lakh financial assistance to have your own shops or ventures in different fields. The government will also organise training for it,” he added.
So far, 12 million women in the state have applied to avail the benefits of the scheme, according to Himanshu Sharma, CEO of Jeevika, the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society. After the seed money, their running ventures will be assessed for further financial assistance up to ₹2 lakh.
The scheme is part of a larger welfare push by the NDA ahead of the elections. Since April this year, the government has announced schemes and doles worth thousands of crores. These include a three-fold increase in old-age pension, 1.5 times increase in monthly allowance for all panchayat representatives, doubling of the honorarium of nearly 140,000 Jeevika workers engaged in various administrative, training, and other activities related to self-help groups (SHGs), and a three-fold increase in honorarium of ASHA and MAMTA workers, etc.
During his 35-minute address, Modi described the 1.1 million Jeevika Self-Help Groups in Bihar as a solid foundation for the launch of the scheme and said women-led development would touch all corners of the state to usher in positive change in the families, villages and society. “When a government makes policies with women at the centre, it benefits the entire family and the society, as happened with Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan scheme or other programmes. We have changed the scenario by keeping women at the centre of policy making,” he added.
He also exhorted the women to avail the opportunities coming their way through Mudra Yojana, schemes like Drone Didi, Beema Sakhi, and Bank Didi, under which volunteers appointed in rural areas assist residents with different services. “The government’s only goal is to fulfil all your dreams and make your life happy. Now, women are flying fighter jets and joining armed forces and police. In Bihar, whenever I come, seeing so many women police personnel is very heartening. The Nitish government has ensured that women can move and work fearlessly now, which was not possible earlier,” he added.
Maintaining that it was the duty of his government to take care of all their needs, Modi said it was the reason free ration distribution under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana was started during Covid to ensure that nobody slept empty stomach. “It was a big relief for mothers and sisters. The scheme is still on, benefiting 8.5-crore (85 million) people. Our government also started giving PM houses to families mostly in the name of women to make them real ‘maalkin’ (owners). For your health concerns, there are Atushmaan Bharat, Matri Vandana and health check-up schemes,” he added.
Modi also reminded women of the drop in prices of all essential items due to the GST reforms.
Kumar said that the RJD government had done nothing for women. “They worked only for the family. When he had to leave the chair (oblique reference to Lalu Prasad) after seven years, he made his wife (Rabri Devi) the CM. They had no concern beyond family, while for us the entire state is a family and women empowerment has been our focus from the outset. The PM has also been working so hard for Bihar and things are set to get even better,” he added.
The Opposition slammed the bank transfer, saying that the scheme was announced ahead of election to lure woman voters. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, who was in Bihar, said: “The women are now smart and they understand why the government did not come up with such proposal in the last 20 years. Giving one-time ₹10,000 means nothing. Will they give it every month? The BJP is known for making false promises”.
Ahead of the launch of the programme, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav also announced his party’s vision for women’s empowerment with ‘Mai-Behen Maan Yojana’ providing ₹2,500 month, a monthly pension of ₹1,500 and MAA and BETI schemes for overall growth. Congress has promised ₹2,500/month to women.