New Delhi, Mar 8 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday said that not a single penny had been spent for the welfare of women out of the thousand crore Nirbhaya fund set up by the centre.

"Women are in the teaching profession in great numbers, and this is a good sign. Every problem has a solution, and you just need resolve and intent. The Centre had set up thousand crore Nirbhaya Fund for women, but from what I know, not a single penny has been spent," said Modi.

"There are laws for everything but that is not enough. We need speedy justice to create fear in those who commit crime against women," he said.

"Women are playing an important role in nation-building, we can't deny that. At the root of all problems is how boys and girls are looked at differently even within the family. We need to change the outlook in the society," he added.

He further said that women should be free to make a choice about their career, education, and marriage.

"Women should be free to choose, whether it is about their career, education, marriage or having a family. Discrimination against women is the root of all troubles. Mahatma Gandhi said when a woman is educated, two families are educated. I will add that not just two families, but two generations are educated," he said.

"I found that many schools did not have toilets in Gujarat and so girls dropped out. I have run a campaign in Gujarat to improve this. Not just primary education and literacy, if we focus on other areas like offering incentives for women in research, we may get good results," he added. (ANI)