Women in Gujarat feel “safe” even at night due to the sense of security provided by the government, said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Vadodara Saturday. He said the government had a “special responsibility” to improve the lives of women.
“The government and the society have a specific responsibility towards women and children; whatever we do for the empowerment of women will always be insufficient as there is always scope for more,” Patel said during an event by the Women and Child Development Department to hand out recruitment letters to women joining as Anganwadi staff in Vadodara The CM also announced the recruitment of 7,000 more women to Anganwadi services in the coming week. “We have introduced a specific scheme for women in the budget called the Suposhit Mata Swasth Bal Yojana, which will focus on 1,000 days of proper care and nutrition to mothers during the pregnancy and lactation period when mothers require extra calories and better nourishment. So, we will be providing one liter of groundnut oil, and other nutritious foods for 1,000 days of a new mother’s life… It is an Rs 800 crore scheme of the state government,” Patel said.
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Patel further noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, during his tenure as the Chief Minister, ensured “women’s safety” was a priority. “Since Narendra Modi saheb was Chief Minister, there has been a sense of security for the women — our mothers and sisters– in the state. No matter what the festival or occasion, even in festivals like Navratri that go on until late at night, women are not scared of returning home late. That is the security provided by the government led by Modi.”
Calling Gujarat a “growth engine”, Patel said it is imperative for government scheme benefits to reach the last person. “But one can only be called a growth engine when all classes of the society are benefitted, right up to the last person. We can progress as much as we push education and ensure that there are no dropouts…”
While many “big countries” abandoned their citizens during the covid-19 pandemic, Patel said Modi reached out to the “last person” in the country. “…Modiji provided free vaccines to 1.3 billion people. Not only vaccination but also meals… he ensured that no one was allowed to sleep hungry… the last of the people were provided with food. The Ayushman Bharat policy is the largest health policy in the world introduced by Modiji that allows anyone to avail medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh for free.”
The CM also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development works, including three upcoming Urban Primary Health Centres, drainage lines and RCC stormwater drains—at a cost of Rs 14.6 crore—and a new Urban Primary Health Center at Harni, a water supply pipeline in Kalali, and underground water tanks at Bapod and Harinagar at an expense of Rs 9.9 crore, of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).
Patel also released two books on “FAQs” related to the works of the Women and Child Development Department of the state.
Following the event Patel headed to a conference hall in MS University to meet top BJP leaders of Vadodara as well as officials of VMC and elected BJP MLAs for a closed-door meeting. Senior party leaders said the meeting was likely to see a specific discussion on the “roadblocks” facing the VMC in completing development works due to paucity of funds among other issues.
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