Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said those who had kept the women's reservation bill "hanging" for years finally voted for it due to fear of women's power.
Some opposition parties tried to oppose it by raising questions, but they were compelled to vote for it in Parliament, he said, speaking before a large gathering of women at the Ahmedabad airport after arriving in Gujarat for a two-day visit.
"Those who kept delaying the women's reservation bill for decades have now supported the bill in Parliament out of compulsion, as they were afraid of you. Your strength compelled them to support the bill," he said.
India's women were subjected to injustice all these years after independence because their hands and legs were tied in the absence of reservation in legislatures, the prime minister said.
"We can not achieve development without participation of half the population. In the past, either political excuses were made (for not bringing in such a bill) or they (past governments) used to say that not everything is achievable," Modi said.
Thousands of women gathered at the event at the airport, organised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to thank the prime minister for the passage of the bill in both houses of Parliament, said a BJP release.
The prime minister further said that the country also saw how those who were opposing the bill -- which reserves 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women -- raised various questions using expressions such as "kintu, parantu" (but, however).
Some political leaders even tried to divide women (as an attempt to stall the bill), he said, without naming anybody.
Notably, the Congress had demanded a quota for OBC women in the overall quota of 33 per cent, while the AIMIM had demanded a quota for Muslim women.
"You must have seen how they were making excuses and putting out conditions to support the bill. But when they realized that women of this country are watching what is going on in Parliament, they reluctantly cast their votes in support of the bill, " Modi said.
The bill is "Modi's guarantee", he said.
"You sent lots of rakhis on Rakshabandhan. So, as your brother, this bill is a gift from me to you. I had prepared this gift well in advance, but kept it a secret. This bill guarantees that your rights will be protected. This bill is a guarantee for India's success, because if women come forward, no one can stop our country," said the PM.
It was the BJP government in Gujarat with him as chief minister that started the "fight" to increase women's participation in legislatures, Modi claimed.
His government provided 50 per cent reservation to women in local self-governing bodies in Gujarat, he said.
The Gujarat government reserves 33 per cent seats for women in the police force and other government jobs, Modi said.
The decisions taken by him as chief minister to increase women's participation in every field played an important role in boosting his confidence to take similar decisions at the central level, the prime minister said.
-With PTI Input
