The BJP on Saturday announced that it will launch an awareness campaign on the Women’s Reservation Bill in all 50,000 villages of Odisha and highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts towards women empowerment.

This was announced by senior party leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in presence of BJP state president Manmohan Samal.

"The party will rope in local organisations to hold awareness meetings in 50,000 villages in Odisha. At present, Lok Sabha has 81 women MPs which will increase to 182 after the implementation of the bill. While the Odisha Assembly has 18 women MLAs, it will increase to 49," Pradhan told reporters here at the BJP’s state headquarters.

The bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received the parliamentary nod on Thursday as the Rajya Sabha unanimously voted in its favour. The Lok Sabha passed it on Wednesday. It will now require the approval of a majority of the state assemblies.

The reservation, however, will come into effect only after the completion of the census and delimitation exercises.

Earlier, Pradhan joined the celebration where hundreds of women cheered passage of the Bill in Parliament.

Addressing the gathering, the senior BJP leader said that Droupadi Murmu, a “tribal sister” from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, is now the President of India.

“Modi-ji will make you either an MLA or an MP. Modi hai to mumkin hai (If Modi is at the helm, it is possible),” he said. Asserting that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will change the fate of India, Pradhan said the decision to increase the participation of mother power in the development of the country shows the commitment of the prime minister towards women-led development.

“Modi-ji has done a lot for the empowerment of women. Beginning from the Ujjwla Yojana to Mudra Scheme or Women Self Help Group or Swachha Bharat, Modi-ji has all along worked for the women's welfare,” he said.

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