Vijayawada, April 23: Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress party and its allies for what he described as their duplicitous stance on the Women's Reservation Bill, asserting that the Modi government remained firmly committed to ensuring 33 per cent representation for women in legislative bodies by 2029.

Addressing a press conference organised under the banner of 'Jana Akrosh' in Vijayawada, along with NDA alliance leaders, the Minister said that the enactment of the 'Nari Shakti Vandanam' legislation stood as testimony to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unwavering commitment to women's empowerment. He recalled that successive governments over the past three decades had reduced women's reservation to a mere electoral promise, whereas the Modi government, since 2014, had pursued the matter with sincerity and resolve.

Bhupatiraju said the credit for introducing and securing passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in 2023 belonged entirely to the NDA government under Modi's leadership. He alleged that when the amendment bill to implement the 33 per cent reservation from 2029 was placed before Parliament, the Congress and its allies obstructed it with various pretexts, defeating it by a margin of merely 54 votes. He described this as a betrayal of the aspirations of women across the country, and accused parties with patriarchal ideologies of conspiring to prevent women from advancing politically.

Dismissing opposition claims that southern States were being shortchanged, the Minister argued that it was precisely the failure to pass the amendment bill that was causing grave injustice to the southern States, and urged opposition parties to recognise this reality and extend their support. He explained that the Modi government was undertaking the delimitation process with the objective of implementing women's reservation by the 2029 elections, well ahead of 2034, and that a population-based reorganisation of constituencies would ensure equal opportunities for all regions and women alike. He noted that women currently constituted only 12.6 per cent of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, and stressed that reservations were indispensable to improve this figure.

TDP leader Gadde Anuradha, who also addressed the gathering, held the neglect of previous governments responsible for India's poor ranking in global indices of women's empowerment. Jana Sena leader Potireddy Sunitha said that genuine development was possible only when women entered decision-making roles, and affirmed that the alliance government in the State was committed to that goal.

Among those present were BJP State General Secretary Lakshmi Prasanna, Mahila Morcha President Nishidha Raju, and Media In-charge Kilari Dileep, among others.

Guntur,Tadepalli, April 23: Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma on Wednesday declared that the Vedas are the very lifeblood of Indian culture and Hindu Dharma, and called upon every citizen to take responsibility for promoting Vedic education as part of preserving Sanatana Dharma.

He was speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the Krishna-Guntur Mandala Veda Vidwat Pravardhaka Pariksha Sabha, held under the presidentship of Chintapalli Subrahmanya Sharma at the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Kolanukonda village of Tadepalli Mandal. Borra Radhakrishna, Chairman of the Vijayawada Durga Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam, was among the chief guests at the function.

Expressing deep concern over what he described as concerted efforts by certain foreign and internal forces to undermine Hindu culture and traditions in the country, the Union Minister stressed the urgent need to safeguard Vedic knowledge and pass it on to future generations. He observed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Hindu community across the world had been able to hold its head high with pride.

Taking a pointed dig at previous governments, he alleged that they had encouraged religious conversions for electoral and political gains, and noted that the phenomenon of 'Ghar Wapsi' had now created conditions for people to return to the fold of Sanatana Dharma. He called upon students who had pursued Vedic learning to play a pivotal role not only in social and national development but also in the protection of Sanatana Dharma.

Certificates were subsequently presented to students who had passed the Vidwat and Pravardhaka examinations with distinction.

Among those present were Vijayawada Durga temple Sthanacharyulu Vishnubhatla Sivaprasad Sharma, Vedic scholars Chintapalli Anjaneya Ghanapathi, Chilla Balayya Somayajulu, Chintapalli Narasimhamurthi Avadhani, and Kuppa Janardhan Sharma, besides a large number of Vedic students.

Vijayawada, April 23: Union Minister Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma on Thursday felicitated Uppalapati Srinivasaraju, BJP State Office Secretary, on his election as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council, at the BJP State office in Vijayawada.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister expressed confidence that Uppalapati Srinivasaraju would render exemplary service in the interests of advocates' welfare and the preservation of professional values in his capacity as a Bar Council member. He expressed hope that the latter would play a pivotal role in addressing the issues and grievances faced by the legal fraternity.

The Minister observed that it was commendable that Srinivasaraju had been accorded the opportunity to serve on a prestigious platform such as the Bar Council, and called upon him to work effectively for the protection of advocates' rights and welfare.

Among those who participated in the programme were BJP State General Secretary Nagotu Ramesh Naidu, State Spokesperson Sheikh Baji, Media Department State Coordinator Kilaru Dilip, and NTR District President Adduri Sriram, among others.