New Delhi/Kolkata, Sep 17 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the objective of the Centre and the West Bengal government is to give the state’s women both courage and decision-making power to move forward, and the ‘Annapurna Yojana’ is playing a crucial role in realising this vision.
Virtually addressing an ‘Annapurna Divas’ event organised by the West Bengal government, Modi also said that a major grievance of the people of West Bengal in the last 12 years was that the benefits of several Central schemes did not reach them on time.
Without referring to the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, Modi said poor families suffered the most in the last 12 years as they did not receive the benefits of Central schemes, but now, under the BJP government, the stalled schemes have been accelerated.
“Our vision is that the women of Bengal should have both the power to make decisions and the courage to move forward. The Annapurna Yojana plays a crucial role in this. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the beneficiary mothers and sisters of the scheme,” Modi said.
Earlier, Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, while addressing a programme in Salt Lake near Kolkata, announced that Prime Minister Modi’s birthday on September 17 will be celebrated as ‘Annapurna Divas’ in the state every year, as the Rs 3,000 monthly assistance scheme for women was guaranteed by him.
On Thursday, the fourth instalment of the BJP government’s Annapurna Yojana reached the bank accounts of nearly 1.5 crore women in Bengal. Under the scheme, eligible women get Rs 3,000 every month.
The prime minister said that for a mother, this amount could be the money for her child’s education; for a sister, it could support the purchase of medicines or essential items for the household.
“At our homes, our mothers and sisters carry numerous responsibilities on their shoulders. While making countless small and big decisions, a woman takes care of the family in every possible way.
“When their concern regarding essential household expenses decreases, their confidence naturally grows. The Annapurna Yojana is a major initiative aimed at strengthening the confidence of the women of Bengal,” Modi said.
He said a fixed amount reaching the bank accounts of “our sisters in Bengal” every month – for which they do not have to ask anyone – serves as a vital support system in their lives.
“This is a tremendous help,” he said.
The prime minister also said that resolving every issue across the life cycle of mothers, sisters and daughters has been the highest priority of the BJP.
“Today, through the Annapurna Yojana, a new strength has been added to the lives of the mothers and sisters in Bengal. I congratulate and extend my best wishes to every sister benefiting from this scheme,” he said.
Referring to the BJP’s resounding victory in the Bengal elections held earlier this year, the prime minister said the state chose a new path of change, and the mothers and sisters played the most pivotal role in bringing about this transformation.
“You have faced many hardships in your lives and have waited a long time for many things. Therefore, the very first test before our government was to make the lives of the women easier and to enhance their ease of living. Hence, the core mantra we adopted is – less talk, more work,” he said.
Modi said work on the Annapurna Yojana began within a few days of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal in May, and today, money is directly reaching the bank accounts of a large number of women.
“No ‘cut money’, no middlemen. Cut money will no longer work in Bengal… Our government also aims to ensure that not a single eligible woman is deprived of the benefits of Annapurna Yojana. Rapid work is underway to achieve this,” Modi said.
In Salt Lake, Adhikari said, “Every year, September 17 will be celebrated as Annapurna Divas because the Annapurna Yojana was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee. We have already implemented it for a large section of women.”
The chief minister said the cash benefit has been transferred to the accounts of most of the 1.58 crore beneficiaries for the September instalment, and the rest will be done by the end of the day.
“Prime Minister Modi has announced the preparation of a list of 50 lakh beneficiaries in Bengal under the PM Awaas Yojana. All new houses under the programme will be owned by women,” Adhikari said.
Women sports personalities, including Poulami Ghatak, Indu Puri and Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, inaugurated the programme to celebrate Annapurna Divas.
“In the last four months, we have set up a commission headed by Justice Samapti Chatterjee (retired) to inquire into atrocities on women in the state,” the chief minister said, asserting that the BJP government is committed to ensuring that no woman in the state is subjected to atrocities.
He also called upon the state’s women to come forward to create an addiction-free Bengal.
Pointing out that Bengal is in a precarious position in terms of teenage marriages and teenage pregnancy, the chief minister said Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas districts are leading on these counts.
“I assure that during this government’s tenure, no girl under the age of 18 years will be allowed to marry. Those who have done so and those who assisted such marriages will be punished as per the law,” Adhikari said.
