Bhubaneswar: “Empowerment of women is the empowerment of the nation. No household, society, State and country has ever moved forward without empowering its women,” said Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Supremo Naveen Patnaik while addressing the partymen on 24th Foundation Day of the party here today.
He described ‘women empowerment’ as his favourite programme of his administration.
“I am confident that the mothers and sisters who run their households so efficiently will run the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad with equal competence,” he said quoting late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
“Mothers are the Axle of wheel in the society. Without their progress, the chariot can never move forward,” he added.
Speaking about women empowerment, Patnaik said, “Biju Babu had scripted history by giving 33% reservation for women in Panchayatiraj, urban bodies and government jobs. The ruling BJD based on ideology of Biju Babu has made 50% reservation for women in Panchayat and urban bodies. Moreover, the party has been fighting to give 33% reservation to women in Assembly and Parliament as the party believes in action not in words,” adding “BJD is the only political party in the country that had given 33% tickets to women in 2019 general elections.”
Targeting the national parties, Patnaik said that the slogan for women empowerment is only confined to their speech during election rallies. After elections, the national parties forget to meet their commitments.
“The national parties remember women empowerment during elections and commit in their manifesto only to conveniently forget after winning the elections. We can not deprive half of our population of their rights. They must have their rightful place in the political space of our country,” Patnaik said.
“Even as the BJD is a regional party, it will intensify its movement to provide 33% reservation for women in Assembly and Parliament,” he said stressing that the BJD will keep reminding the national parties about this forgotten promise in every session of Parliament and Legislative Assembly.