PM Modi Calls On Varanasi Women: 'Boost Voting, Beat Drums, Clang Thalis'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch to women in Varanasi today emphasized BJP's welfare schemes in contrast to the "anti-women" opposition.

He requested women to ensure maximum voting, suggesting they gather in groups of 25-30 and go to polling stations while beating drums, clanging thalis, and singing songs.

Photo Credit: PTI

PM Modi Addresses In Varanasi

He urged that if 20-25 such processions are held at each booth before 10 am, the voting figures would increase significantly. Modi campaigned in his constituency, which is voting in the last phase on June 1. During the "Nari Shakti Sammelan," he launched a strong attack on the opposition Congress and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which are contesting the election as allies, as reported by NDTV.

The Congress, he said, opposes reservation, while its ally, the Samajwadi Party, is lax about law and order. He recalled a controversial statement by the SP's late patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had sparked outrage by questioning the death sentence for three men convicted of two gang rapes in Mumbai, saying, "They are boys, they make mistakes." Modi asserted that if such mistakes were made now, Yogi Adityanath would know how to deal with them.

Modi claimed that the INDI Alliance's mentality has always been anti-women, opposing women's reservations and making it difficult for women to live wherever their government comes to power. He highlighted that the people of Banaras are familiar with the Jungle Raj in UP and Bihar, where it was difficult for sisters and daughters to step out of the house, and daughters had to leave their studies due to safety concerns.

His appeal to women was bolstered by the party's social welfare schemes, which he said were saving every family significant amounts of money. Modi presented an itemized list of savings under various heads such as housing, health, free food, and subsidized cooking gas, as reported by NDTV. He reminded the audience of toilets built in every house, free bank accounts, and even free cataract operations for 3 lakh people of the constituency that he had facilitated as an MP.

In an emotive appeal, he stated that for the first time in the past 10 years, women have come to the forefront of the government's policies and decisions. He highlighted that this major factor in India's success story had not been discussed much, as per media reports. He asked rhetorically, "If the home cannot be run without you, how can the country be run without you?" This, he said, was something that previous governments had not understood for 60 years.