Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a strong pitch for the women's reservation bill in his opening speech in the new Parliament. Declaring himself "chosen by God for this pious task", the Prime Minister called for increased focus on women-led development and praised the bill, which was cleared late last evening by the union cabinet and tabled this afternoon. "The world understands that only talking of women(-led) development is not enough... this is a positive step taken on this front."