TMC 'betrayed' women, will be punished in Polls: PM Modi in Bengal

Purulia, Paschim Medinipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on both the Trinamool and the Congress for their "conspiracy" against women by defeating the Women's Reservation (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.

On Sunday, Modi addressed rallies in the Jungle Mahal region of the state, densely populated with tribals. The rallies were held in Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur.

Also Read: PM Narendra Modi makes unscheduled stop at Jhargram, savours street food 'jhalmuri'

"You have seen what happened in Parliament. Trinamool did not want women MPs and MLAs. Trinamool conspired with Congress and 33% reservation was not allowed and the law on women's reservation could not be passed," Modi said at Bankura's Barjora public rally.

"This is the sacred land of Maa Sharada, and many women are present here. BJP is identified with women's empowerment and safety, which is why women bless the BJP the most. We want the role of daughters to be expanded in the making of Viksit Bharat. We want more women to participate in politics," the PM said.

Modi accused the Trinamool Congress of "betraying" women by preventing the passage of the bill and said: "Trinamool Congress will have to pay the price in the assembly elections for hatching a conspiracy with the Congress and other opposition parties in blocking the Bill."

"The mothers and sisters of West Bengal will punish Trinamool for this. This is because the women in West Bengal are challenging Trinamool's misrule and "maha jungle raj in the state," he said.

At a rally in Purulia, Modi said the tribal dominated districts have gone backward under 15 years of Trinamool rule. He said there is a separate tribal welfare ministry in the Union government. He mentioned that currently two BJP ruled states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh have tribal CMs. "During BJP's rule, India got its first tribal president," he said.

Also Read: ‘Dreams crushed’, ‘selfish politics’, and ‘we’ll be back’: Key highlights from Modi’s speech after Lok Sabha rejects women’s reservation amendment bill

"We want the role of women to expand in building a developed India and want more and more women to enter politics. But West Bengal has seen once again how the TMC betrayed the state's sisters and daughters," he said. He spoke of how the ruling party blocked water pipelines reaching the homes of people in the tribal belts.

Explaining the BJP's manifesto for women, PM Modi said in Purulia that if the BJP government comes to power, women would get ₹36,000 per year and the government will aim to create lakhs of Lakhpati Didis in the state. He mentioned that several projects in the districts were stalled due to interference by state government.