NEW DELHI: Even as the BJP intends to enrol over five crore women across the country in the NDA Government’s Health Insurance Scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter addressed to his “sisters” to become part of this “financial inclusion” during this Raksha Bandhan.
Modi’s letter, addressed to the women, will be distributed by the BJP across the country ahead of Rakhi, to be celebrated on August 29. The letter is part of the saffron party’s special drive to enrol women in Modi Government’s social security schemes like Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna and Jeeven Jyoti Bima Yojna.
Wishing them on the auspicious occasion, Modi, in the letter sent to the state BJP units, says he had spoken about women’s role in his last ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme. He asked them to be part of the insurance scheme by paying merely Rs 12 per year, for which they will be entitled to Rs 2 lakh accident cover.
Interestingly, two sets of letters have been designed -- one for Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency and the other for the rest of the country. In his letter for Varanasi, Modi has signed off as ‘Yours Sansad’ (Parliamentarian).
The Prime Minister talks about giving the women their due and their financial inclusion. Party sources said that during the recent drive for Jan Dhan Yojna, where bank accounts were opened, over 50 per cent of participants were women.
The idea behind turning the festival celebrating the brother-sister relationship is to focus on the ideology of cultural nationalism that the ruling party espouses. The BJP’s ideological mentor RSS also lays great emphasis on celebrating the event. Last year, the Sangh had organised a function on the occasion, when the BJP MPs gathered at the residence of Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and tied Rakhis on one another.
Now, to bring the festival to the national mainstream and dovetailing Modi Government’s various social sector schemes, the BJP is targeting over 5 crore women.
A special 10-member Committee under HRD Minister Smiriti Irani has been set up that is visiting the various states to oversee the programme to enrol 11,000 women in the schemes in each of the over 4,000 Assembly constituencies.
The other members of the Panel are ministers Thawar Chand Gehlot, Harsh Vardhan, Jitender Singh, BJP general secretary Anil Jain, secretaries Sudhan Yadav, Jyoti Dhurve, and Mahila Morcha chief Vijaya Rahtakar.