Modi Govt Has The Highest Number Of Women Union Ministers: Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the Modi government is the first government since independence to have six women in the cabinet including two women ministers as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security.  She was addressing a Mahila Sammelan event in Varanasi on Wednesday when she took the opportunity to bring to focus the achievements of the NDA government.

“I told the audience that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is the first government after Independence to have six women Cabinet Ministers with two of them as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security. Jawahar Lal Nehru's first cabinet (1952-57) had only one woman - Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur as a Cabinet Minister. His second government (1957-62) had no woman Cabinet Minister. His third Government (1962-64) had one woman (Dr. Sushila Nayyar) as a Cabinet Minister,” tweeted Swaraj after the event.

I addressed the Mahila Sammelan in Varanasi today. I told the audience that Prime Minister @narendramodi 's government is the first government after independence to have six women Cabinet Ministers with two of them as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security. /1

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 15, 2019

“Lal Bahadur Shastri continued with Dr. Sushila Nayyar as a Cabinet Minister (1964-66). Indira Gandhi also continued with her as a Cabinet Minister (1966-67),” she said in another tweet.

Swaraj said that during Indira Gandhi's tenure as the Prime Minister from 1967-1977 and again during 1980-84, not a single woman was appointed as a Cabinet Minister. She added Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet (1984-89) had only one woman (Mohsina Kidwai) as a Cabinet Minister.

Swaraj also flagged off a motorcycle rally of women and told the women in the public “relationship between you and Modi has become stronger...like a family in the past five years”.

“Today I have come as a representative of PM Modi and the NDA government to give details of the work done in various fields,” she said and counted the government's performance on national security, economy and external affairs fronts.

ALSO READ: SC Rebukes WB Govt For Delay In Release of Priyanka Sharma

She spoke about her own efforts in bringing several Indians stuck abroad back to the country and helping NRIs outside the country. She claimed that the Bharatiya Pravasi Diwas organised here was a success. Economically, she said that the Indian economy has become the sixth largest in the world, whereas during the UPA regime it was counted among the first five fragile economies.

I told the audience that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is the first government after Independence to have six women Cabinet Ministers with two of them as members of the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Swaraj campaigned for PM Narendra Modi and asked the voters to vote for him in great numbers to ensure his victory in the constituency as he is contesting from Varanasi which goes to poll on May 19.

She also touched upon the Balakot air strike and the surgical strike on terror launch pads in her speech claiming the government’s success in these operations. “The Mumbai terror attack was the worst but the UPA government did nothing, whereas the NDA government under PM Modi's leadership retaliated with surgical strikes and air strikes soon after the Pulwama terror attack to give a strong message to Pakistan and also isolated it on the international platform...,” she said.

Picture credit: Asian Age

More Stories by Poorvi Gupta