ALLAHABAD: Taking a dig at the former Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government, chief minister
Yogi Adityanath said that women in
Uttar Pradesh are no longer afraid of being eve-teased since his government formed anti-Romeo squads with an aim to make women feel more safe.
The chief minister was in Allahabad on Sunday to attend the inaugural ceremony of 'Samutkarsha', a camp organised for girl students studying in schools run by
Vidya Bharti, the education wing of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sabgh (RSS) on Parade ground.
Addressing the people, Yogi said, "People of the state were well aware about the circumstances that prevailed a year back. They had witnessed anarchy and eve-teasing across the state. Ever since our government came to power, we have decided to protect our sisters and daughters because we feel that if they feel safe, the entire society would feel safe. We had formed anti-Romeo squads with an aim to make women feel safe and secure."
The audience comprised around 12,000 girls from 49 districts of eastern UP's schools run by Vidya Bharti.
He added that the society would benefit from their abilities and leadership qualities.
The chief minister said the 24x7 available '181' helpline was introduced to help women and girls round the clock in an emergency situation, be it within or outside their homes.
"The state government's support to self-help groups is making rural women empowered across 60,000 villages," the CM added.
Lauding the camp's organisers, Yogi said that camps and shivirs like Samutkarsha were the best medium to promote schemes for
women empowerment.
Yogi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ujjawala scheme seeks to empower women in the country. Under this scheme, 65 lakh families have been given a gas connection free of cost in UP.
He said, "Bank branches have been directed to extend loans to at least one woman and an entrepreneur belonging to SC\ST category, of any amount between Rs 10 lakh and one crore, on a nominal interest rate."
Appealing families to not discriminate between girls and boys, Yogi said, "The daughters and sisters of this country have made India's name famous in various fields like education, technology and politics."
Citing examples of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and defense minster Nirmala Sitharaman, the chief minster asked the girls in the audience, " Is there anyone who doesn't know the names of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Union defense minister Nirmala Sitaraman."
Yogi added that women have often been seen as a symbol 'matri shakti' as they have always worked for the welfare of society. "Even Sangam - known as Triveni or Prayagraj - also symbolizes 'matri shakti' as it is formed by Maa Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati."
CM said "When the entire world is talking about women empowerment, Indian culture has always been dominated by matri shakti."
He cited the example of Rani Laxmi Bai who is known for her exemplary courage in fighting the British during the Indian freedom struggle. "Indian women have written history with their bravery and wisdom."
