Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena on Monday said that the last 18 months for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had been extremely difficult since all the top brass of the party was put behind the bars.
Speaking at the ‘We Women Want Festival and Awards’ organised by ITV Network at Hotel Taj Ambassador, New Delhi the newly appointed Chief Minister said that “It has been a tough time for the AAP since our entire top brass including Satyender Jain, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Arvind Kejriwal were all put behind the bars.”
Lauding the working style of the party which has received the National Party status in just one decade, the Chief Minister said that “although it was a tough face for us and we were facing issues in governance but we are not just colleagues, we work as a family.”
On women participation in the political arena, the Chief Minister said that despite women being the 50% constituent of the society, their participation at the top decision making level is just 20%.
“Till the time we don’t have more women at the top decision making posts, how can we expect good policies for women,” she added.
Crediting the party for giving her the Chief Ministerial post, she noted that she never had thought that one day she would become the CM of the nation capital.
“I come from a middle-class background as both my parents were professors at the Delhi University. This is not just an achievement for me but for all such women who dream big but have humble background. And, that is what makes AAP a party different from others”, she said.
Her remarks came in reference to the Women reservation Bill which was brought in by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) but is unlikely to get implemented before census and delimitation in 2029.
Speaking on the much awaiting ‘Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna’ under which under which the Delhi government will provide Rs 1,000 monthly honorarium to women, she said that “It will be launched soon.”
In reference to the scheme, she said that while this amount would appear to be a small one but there is a huge strata in the society for whom this money means a lot. “Imagine a woman, who wants to buy something for her, she has to in that case ask for the money from her husband or her son. She is always dependent on others. So, this scheme is for the empowerment of women and the fact of the matter is that the biggest way to empower a woman is through money and policy transformation in education sector. The education sector in Delhi has transformed in the last one decade and same is the case with health sector with the opening of Mohalla Clinics”, she highlighted.