Addressing an all women’s rally in Tumkur on Sunday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said only empowerment of women will take the country towards progress. Rahul, surrounded by top leaders, promised women that his party was committed to provide security and respect. In his effort to woo women voters in Karnataka, the Congress vice-president assured them of passing of women’s reservation Bill.
In his veiled attack on the BJP and RSS, he said on his last day of Karnataka visit, “Their ideological sangathan has no place for women. Their leader (Modi), what he says and what he does, you know it. I do not have to elaborate.”
Rahul said, “India can’t be a superpower until we empower women. Wherever women are being empowered and given a chance, those States are progressing rapidly. We want to give women an equal chance in politics... In panchayats, in the Assemblies, in Parliament, more women should be visible.”
As Karnataka is crucial for the century-old party in the ensuing 2014 General Elections, Rahul Gandhi appealed to women who constitute more than 40 per cent of the voters to join the political process.
“We want to use your strength in the progress of this country. We want to open doors for women, doors of schools, hospitals and Parliament, as without you, there is no progress,” Rahul said. His strong pitch for women empowerment was to bring more women forward in the election process, he added.
Rahul said he wanted to see a day when women could walk without fear “in the evenings, nights and in buses. I want them represented in every sector with safety, freedom and no fear”.
Gandhi said the Uttar Pradesh Government had taken a leaf from Congress-ruled Karnataka and implemented the Women’s Self-Help Group Scheme.Rahul, in his speech advocating the need to empower women, pointed out that the States where women are being empowered are progressing at a faster pace than other States. He said, “20 lakh women in Karnataka have been associated with banks, this changed their life.”
Gandhi also listed out various welfare programmes of the UPA Government like MGNREGA and Food Bill, which, he said, were implemented mainly for the benefit of women. The UPA government, he said, has also worked on anti-rape laws.
later in the day, Rahul held a road show in four districts of Karnataka from Tumkur to Mysore (Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s native place) playing all across to the gallery.