Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Congress President Rahul Gandhi spoke to hundreds of women students at Stella Maris College on Wednesday.
Congress party will reserve a third of government jobs for women if it comes into power, its chief Rahul Gandhi said on March 13, in a sign women’s rights are rising up the political agenda for next month’s election.
“Frankly, I don’t see enough women in leadership positions. I don’t see them leading enough companies, I don’t see them leading enough states, I don’t see enough of them in the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas,” Rahul Gandhi said in Chennai, referring to the lower house of parliament and state legislatures.
India ranks at 149 out of 193 countries – worse than neighbouring Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – for the percentage of women in national parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an independent organisation promoting democracy.
Rahul Gandhi also said that Congress would pass the Women’s Reservation Bill this year if it came to power. The bill, which reserves 33 percent of the seats in national and state assemblies for women, has been on hold for two decades despite being championed by Congress and the BJP at different points.
The BJP, which says it has empowered women through nationwide schemes including clean fuel and sanitation, questioned how the Congress jobs plan would be implemented.
“For how many generations have people talked about reservation in party positions, reservation for elections, reservation in jobs? But it doesn’t seem to happen,” BJP spokesperson Shaina NC said.
There are currently 66 women out of a total 543 elected members in the lower house of parliament. At 12 percent, this is the highest ever proportion of women in Lok Sabha.
Women make up nearly half of all voters in the country of 1.3 billion people, according to the Election Commission of India. Based on recent state polls, women will likely head to voting stations in droves for the elections due by May, surpassing male turnout, analysts predict.
Stay tuned for more updates!
