CM Fadnavis corners Rahul over Women’s Reservation Bill

Nagpur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of “double standards” on women’s empowerment, alleging that he speaks about women’s rights from public platforms, but Congress opposes and votes against the Women’s Reservation Bill.“The most revolutionary step towards empowering women is the Women’s Reservation Bill brought by PM Narendra Modi. But Rahul Gandhi and Congress voted against it. He does not want to give women their rights. He comes to Pune and speaks about women’s empowerment, but there is a clear contradiction between his words and actions. This reveals Gandhi’s double standards,” the CM said.Fadnavis praised a programme organised in Nagpur on Sunday to take a dig at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event held in Pune the other day. “More than 25,000 youngsters participated in the Nagpur event. No vehicles were arranged to ferry them, and no money was paid to anyone. The youngsters came here on their own,” Fadnavis said. He added that the Nagpur event was intended to give young people the “right direction” as they would eventually contribute towards building a developed India.The CM also criticised Congress, saying the party is full of “Bol Bachchan netas” who have lost connection with the grassroots. “The party merely issues statements, does nothing more,” he said.Referring to the ongoing electoral roll exercise, Fadnavis said the first phase had been completed, and “doubtful” cases would be re-examined before the final list is prepared. Citing his own constituency, Fadnavis said the rolls contained over 23,000 names of deceased electors and around 20,000 duplicate entries.Fadnavis said such discrepancies need to be corrected. He also referred to the role of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), saying all political parties should participate in identifying errors and ensuring genuine electors are not excluded. He stressed that the exercise should ultimately ensure that not a single voter is left out.On tribal welfare, Fadnavis said Maharashtra was implementing what he described as Adivasi Swayam Yojana. When hostel accommodation is unavailable, the state provides ₹60,000 each to around 20,000 tribal students towards lodging, boarding and educational expenses, he said.