Congress committed to women's reservation bill: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday said her party was committed to the women's reservation bill that seeks to provide 33 percent reservation to women in parliament and the state legislatures.

She was speaking at a function 'Sankalp Diwas' organised here by the All India Mahila Congress to commemorate former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary.

Her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi also spoke at the function and called for empowering women. He said the Congress will field women candidates in elections wherever possible.

"Congress passed the women's reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha. For some reason, it could not be passed in the lok Sabha," she said addressing women party workers here.

Sonia Gandhi said though her party was in opposition now, it was committed to the women's reservation bill and would put pressure on the NDA government for its passage in parliament.

"We will put full pressure on this NDA government to pass the bill," she said. Her son and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi called for a "tsunami of women members in the Congress".

"We have to transform the organisational structure of the Congress. There has to be a tsunami of women members in the Congress," Rahul Gandhi said. "Wherever there is a possibility of fielding women candidates in elections, we will field them," he said.

He also said police action alone cannot end the oppression of women and argued that when women get empowered, the attitude of men towards them changes and they give more respect. "We will have to give more power to women...," the 44-year-old leader said.