The enthusiasm among women after the announcement of Chief Minister Mahila Samman Yojana was visible today at the jam-packed town hall of women on the occasion of ‘Mahila Samman Samaroh’. Visibly beaming women thanked CM Arvind Kejriwal for doing what only ‘Delhi’s son’ could have done by providing free electricity, water, education, medical treatment and free travel in buses and assured him of their full support in the upcoming election. “Now our vote is with you,” they said.
Addressing a packed town hall of women on the occasion of ‘Mahila Samman Samaroh’, AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said his government made a big announcement in the Budget towards women empowerment. “Till now a fraud was being committed in the name of empowerment, all the parties were saying that they will empower women. In the name of empowerment, they make one woman of their party something and say that women have been empowered. I am not saying that women should not get posts, they should get big posts, they should get tickets, they should get everything, but that’s it. Only two or four women benefit. What do the rest of the women get? They don’t get anything. Now I will put a thousand rupees in every woman’s purse every month,” he said.
The AAP National Convenor said there is little empowerment with an empty pocket, if there is money in the pocket then there will be empowerment. “In the market, if there is no money in the pocket, what empowerment? Empowerment will happen when there is money. Real empowerment will happen now when every woman gets Rs 1000 every month. Real empowerment will happen when every woman gets a thousand rupees,” he said.
The Delhi Chief Minister said this will be the biggest women empowerment program in the entire world. “Till date, it has never happened that the entire population of women above 18 years of age has been given thousand rupees per month. One thing that is important in this is that if a woman pays income tax, it means that her income is very high. If her husband pays income tax, even then she is eligible to get it. But if you pay income tax yourself or do a government job or are beneficiary of widow pension, old age pension or any government pension, that makes a woman ineligible. Except these three categories, every woman above 18 years of age will get Rs 1000 per month,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal clarified that irrespective of the number of women in a household, each eligible woman will get Rs 1000 per month financial assistance per month. “Some women were asking whether only one woman from a family will get it. No, if there is a mother in a family, she will get it separately; if there is a daughter-in-law, she will get it separately; and if there is a daughter, she will get it separately. That means if there are three women in a family who are eligible, then ₹ 3000 per month and you will get Rs 36000 per year. If women are empowered, the family will be empowered. Women run the family, raise children, look after the family. If women are empowered, then our family will be empowered; if the family is strong, then the society will be strong; and if the society is strong, then the country will be strong. The biggest unit of the society is the woman. And just like someone said that where women are respected, Gods reside there, then this will bring prosperity in the whole of Delhi,” he said.
The Chief Minister further said how the people from the other party (BJP) are saying that Kejriwal is wasting money, and it would spoil women. He said, “They’re saying that women will get spoilt. Where was this concern when they were waiving off their friends’ loans worth ₹11 lakh crores? Your friends did not get spoilt with that much money and my daughters-in-law, sisters, and mothers would be spoilt with just ₹1000? What would they be able to do with a meagre amount of ₹1000? Like someone here said, they’ll be able to eat Gol Gappe? Will be able to shop some clothes for themselves? Watch some movie? What else can they potentially do with ₹1000? They’re saying again and again that it would spoil women. I would just ask these (BJP) people to take care of themselves and not worry about the women and them being spoilt. We are already doing a lot for women and their welfare, including free bus rides, which has helped them immensely. Women who used to spend a lot on travelling long distances for work and studies, are now able to save that money.”
He said we have got CCTV cameras installed across Delhi and while it is still not enough to assure women safety in Delhi, it has still made significant difference. Apart from that, Delhi has the lowest inflation rate in India today. “Women run the house and take care of everything. The man only gives her the salary, but it is the woman who is responsible for managing everything. The salary gets over by 20th of every month, it is the woman who manages the remaining 10 days on her own. Only she knows how she manages the expenses and feeds her family. Inflation hits women the most.”
The Chief Minister said today, we have made your electricity free, your education free, your treatments free, your water free, your pilgrimage free, your bus travel free, and much more. “We have made all these facilities available at free of cost, the Central Government’s report states that the country has witnessed 6% inflation, while Delhi has only 3% inflation, lowest across India. These additional ₹1000 will benefit more women. Ever since we’ve made this announcement, there is a rumour that all the 7 seats are now going to be Kejriwal’s, but don’t sit at your homes relying on such rumours. These people are very clever, they are mischievous and might cash on these rumours,” he said.
Cautioning women in Delhi not to be complacent, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “We have also heard that they have manipulated the EVMs, but the EVMs can also be manipulated to a certain extent, at the most up to 10%. We will get 20% more votes than them. It is your responsibility now to vote for us.”
He told the women attending the town hall that they have three responsibilities now. “First, each woman would cast her vote, tell the same to the women who are supporting the BJP, that your brother Kejriwal is the only one who’ll stand by you, not these BJP people. You must be meeting these BJP supporting women in your friends and relatives’ group, tell them that I have made their electricity free, their bus tickets free, and now I’m giving these ₹1000 to women every month. What has BJP done for them? Why vote for BJP then? Vote for Kejriwal this time. Try and cast your votes early in the morning, before 9 am only. When you cast your vote, when you choose the ‘Jhadu’ button, close your eyes, take God’s name, give your blessings to your brother, and press the button.”
Shri Arvind Kejriwal told the women that their second responsibility is to get the men of the families to vote for us. “Many men are chanting Modi’s name, but you have to set them right. Can you do it? If your husband says ‘Modi’, tell him you won’t serve him dinner. Make them swear on your head. They’ll certainly follow their wives’ wishes. To all the mothers here, make your sons swear on your head to cast their votes for Kejriwal. Will you do it for this son (Kejriwal)? To all the daughters and sisters, make your fathers and brothers swear on your heads and make them cast their votes for us. You all have to convince your families to vote for me, for AAP.”
The third responsibility given to the women was to “campaign for me in your neighborhood and in your societies”. “See, I don’t have money. Had I focused on earning money and taken bribe, I wouldn’t have been able to make the bus tickets free for you. I wouldn’t have given you these ₹1000. I have saved the government’s money to distribute it to you. Now it is your responsibility to fight the election for me and support me. Do you accept it?” he said.
The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to all the women for their presence and support. He further appealed to the women to show their support in the coming elections. He added, “You have seen how I’m continuously fighting with these people for your rights. Make us stronger, become our strength. They’re stopping us from doing everything. If we win these 7 seats, we’ll have more strength in the Parliament. Once we have these 7 seats, nobody would be able to stop us from working, whether it’s the LG, BJP, or the Central Government. If they try to stop us then, our 7 MPs will fight for you to get things done.”
Shri Arvind Kejriwal concluded his speech by raising slogans like Bharat Mata ki Jai.
