Begusarai, Oct 24 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking support for NDA candidates in the assembly elections in Bihar, today said schemes launched for women by the Nitish-led NDA government could be stopped if the Grand Alliance is voted to power.
Modi, while addressing a public meeting here, said that a number of schemes had been launched for the welfare and empowerment of women which could be stopped by the Grand Alliance if it is voted to power.
"Constituents of the Grand Alliance are anti-women, and they had stalled a bill for giving reservations to women in parliament and state assemblies," he said.
"Those of the Grand Alliance had torn down a copy of the women's reservation bill in parliament when it was introduced," the Prime Minister added.
The NDA government had launched schemes for employment of women named as 'Mahila Swarojgar Yojana'. Under this scheme, Rs 10,000 had been deposited in bank accounts of more than one crore women recently, he added.
Modi said that a number of other schemes for women had also been launched, while 'Jeevika Didis' were performing well in Bihar. His government was planning to empower women by making three crore Jeevika Didis as 'Lakhpati Didis' across the country, including from Bihar.
The Prime Minister said that Congress had "insulted" its then president, Sitaram Kesri, and stripped him from the post. "A family in the Congress party had insulted Kesri, which reflects how such a senior leader from Bihar was treated in the party," he pointed out, in reference to the Gandhi family.
Modi said that Bihar was "pushed into the dark age" during the RJD-Congress regime, while the NDA government had ushered in a new era of development after being voted to power in 2005. The pace of development had increased further after his government was voted to power at the Center in 2014, he added.
"With sustained efforts of the NDA government, Bihar will become an industrial hub in the days ahead, if given the opportunity to serve the people of the state for another term," the Prime Minister said, adding that no investor was prepared to come to Bihar during the RJD-Congress regime.
Even at the national level, there were only two cell phone manufacturing factories in the country when Congress was in power at the Center, which had increased manifold since the NDA was voted to power, he pointed out.
"Infrastructural facilities have improved remarkably since the NDA government was voted to power in Bihar. The distance between Begusarai and Patna was reduced considerably after the construction of a six-lane bridge over the Ganga river," Modi said, adding that now there was "no need for a lantern for people of Bihar" as almost everyone in the state had a mobile phone.
"If flashlights are available on mobile phones, where is the need for a lantern," he asked, in an apparent attack on the RJD, which had lantern as its party symbol.
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