On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the govt’s strong commitment to women’s safety and said that replacing the colonial-era IPC with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is showing desired results with faster justice to victims of heinous crimes like rape as well as prevention.
The PM concluded his two-day visit to Gujarat by participating in the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ event held at Vansi Borsi village of Navsari district, where financial assistance of £45mn was disbursed to more than 250,000 women from over 25,000 Self-Help Groups.
He also interacted with some ‘lakhpati didis’ who shared stage with him and acknowledged that the entire security of the event was handled by a team of women cops.
Referring to abrogation of Article 370, Modi slammed his opponents without naming them and said the so-called champions of the Constitution turned a blind eye to injustice to women in J&K.
The PM also said that the govt saved the lives of millions of Muslim women from getting destroyed by enacting the law against triple talaq. “Our govt places utmost importance on ‘samman’ (honour) and ‘suvidha’ (facilities) for women,” he said.
He said BNS has strengthened the legal provisions related to women’s safety and made the filing of complaints easier and the delivery of justice faster. “In the past decade, we have given women’s safety the highest priority, and in order to prevent crimes against them, we have made stricter rules and laws, including introducing capital punishment for heinous crimes like rape,” he said.
Stating that BNS is already showing results, Modi recalled that charges were framed in a gang-rape case in Surat within 15 days of the crime and the culprits were sentenced to life imprisonment a few weeks ago. On Feb 17, two people were sentenced to life imprisonment till last breath for raping a 17-year-old during Navratri on Oct 8 last year.
Modi said the govt has approved 800 courts across the country, most of which are operational.
He said he was the wealthiest person in the world not in terms of money, but because of the blessings from crores of mothers, sisters, and daughters,” he said.
Obesity a grave concern
Modi began his tour by inaugurating and performing a ground-breaking ceremony for development and infrastructure projects worth £258.7mn in Silvassa town of the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli including a 450-bed NAMO Hospital. Highlighting his govt's pro-poor initiatives, Modi said the BJP-led NDA govt has lifted over 250mn people out of poverty through various welfare schemes launched in the last 10 years.
Flagging lifestyle diseases as a serious concern, Modi reiterated the need to cut down on edible oil consumption and said the recent estimate that India will have 440mn obese people by 2050 is ‘huge and scary.’
Stating that obesity is the root cause of many diseases, Modi urged people to fight the chronic health condition characterised by excessive body fat through regular physical exercises and reducing edible oil consumption by 10%.
He said one in every three people in the country may be suffering from obesity by 2050 if the findings of the report turn out to be true. Modi warned that obesity will prove dangerous for people's health and everyone must start trying to overcome this situation.
