Be CM & PM of your villages, Narendra Modi tells women sarpanchs

Chief minister Narendra Modi felicitated female sarpanchs and panchayat members of more than 250 samras villages in the state, and exhorted them to become leaders of their villages.

"The people of your villages have trusted you and handed over the reins to you for five years. It now depends on you how you make your villages better and cleaner, and contribute in their development," Modi said, addressing female sarpanchs and members of samras village panchayats at Gujarat University convention centre on Saturday.

He asked them to act as the chief minister and prime minister of their villages for effectively managing the panchayat affairs.

Wearing a saffron kurta, Modi, however, appeared off-colour and tense for some reason. He did not smile or give any other expression during his speech which lasted for 35 minutes.

Modi described as historic the fact that men in 250 villages had decided against taking part in elections and had shown faith in women. Modi urged female sarpanchs and other office-bearers to act as leaders of their respective villages.

The CM urged the female sarpanchs to ensure that no girl in their villages remained illiterate. Describing defecation in open as a shame, he asked them to see that a toilet was built in every house.

He called upon the women to take steps to tackle malnutrition and other problems, and also urged them to encourage women empowerment through sakhi mandals (self-help groups). “Government will provide necessary funding for such works," he assured.

After his speech, the CM handed over shields, cheques and a book on Swami Vivekananda to female sarpanchs and other office-bearers. In all, cheques worth Rs22.50 crore were distributed. A host of ministers and senior officials were present at the event.