Modi’s ‘PMO tells’ women ministers to write positive articles in newspapers

File image of Smriti Irani | Facebook

The PMO has asked the ministers to counter the notion that there has been little improvement in women’s lives since Narendra Modi came to power.

New Delhi: In the last 10 days, at least three women ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as well as the chief minister of Rajasthan have written “positive” opinion pieces on the same theme — women’s empowerment under the NDA government.

The articles, which stress on the various inclusive measures for women and steps to empower them initiated by the Modi government, could have been coincidental. But ThePrint has learnt it is part of the government’s larger strategy to counter the notion that there has been little improvement in women’s lives and their safety in the last four years.

The move is reportedly the brainchild of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). All women union ministers as well as chief ministers under the NDA have been asked to write blogs or opinion pieces. The information & broadcasting ministry has been tasked with co-ordinating the publication of the articles, sources said.

Last year, the cabinet secretariat prepared a detailed communication plan for publicising cabinet decisions for all ministries, which was endorsed by the PMO. The detailed communication plan also entailed getting experts to write opinion pieces in leading dailies on the scope and benefits of important decisions to the public.

So far, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, textile minister Smriti Irani, minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje have written opinion pieces on the subject, all of which have been published in newspapers and magazines between 20 and 30 August.

Other ministers, including external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi, and minister for drinking water & sanitation Uma Bharti are yet to pen their thoughts.

Jan Dhan, Ujjwala and more

In an article titled ‘Narendra Modi: Pradhan Sevak Above All Else’ published in Outlook on 20 August, Sitharaman touched upon the Jan Dhan Yojna and the Ujjwala scheme. She pointed out that 44 per cent of the beneficiaries of Ujjwala, for example, are SC/ST women.

On 25 August, Irani wrote for Times of India, saying women have become the “fulcrum of administrative initiatives in the four and a half years of the Narendra Modi led government”. The article talked in detail about building toilets in government schools, financial inclusion of women through Jan Dhan Yojna, as well as female beneficiaries in the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana that brought them clean cooking fuel.

In an opinion piece for The Indian Express on 27 August, Badal said livelihood opportunities for women have increased. She wrote: “I am fortunate to be a member of Team Modi whose leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only recognises the potential of women but also works tirelessly to help them realise their potential.” She also talked about the Modi government’s “three-pronged strategy” to empower women.

Rajasthan chief minister Raje’s opinion piece in The Indian Express on 29 August talks about the PM’s ambitious Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, and her state government’s schemes for women, such as the Mukhyamantri Rajshree Yojana and Mukhyamantri Hamari Betiyan Yojana, among others.

Irani’s blog sums up the concerted effort from the ministers when she writes: “…On this Rakshabandhan, when a sister lovingly ties a rakhi on her brother’s ‘kalai’, it would be presumptuous to believe that it is she who is in need of protection. What she needs, she demands and what is rightfully hers is an opportunity to walk shoulder to shoulder with each man to ensure that a new India full of possibilities rises in 2022.”