Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that women empowerment was not a political issue for the BJP but an idea that is intrinsic to its work culture. Shah made the remarks during a debate on the draft women’s reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Bill, which proposes 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was passed with a brute majority in the Lower House on Wednesday. A whopping 454 members of the Lower House voted for the draft legislation on women’s reservation while 2 voted against the motion seeking the Bill’s passage. Shah said the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill will herald a new phase of “women-led development” in the country. “This Bill would ensure women’s participation in policy-making, which had been pending for years. Women empowerment can be a political issue for many parties but it isn’t for the BJP,” Shah said, adding that it was at the core of the BJP’s working culture. The Minister said that since the formation of this government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, security, dignity, and participation of women have been the focus areas of the government. Citing the ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts as examples of the push for women’s empowerment in the country, he said 70 per cent of account holders are women.
