Modi govt only wants to worship, not empower women: Rahul Gandhi

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi focused almost entirely on empowerment of women as he addressed his party members in the Talkatora stadium in New Delhi on the birth anniversary of his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Rahul began his speech by saying that the UPA government had done a lot for the upliftment of the common man in the country. “Every UPA scheme gave power to the poor and needy in India for the last 10 years,” he said.

After adding that the Congress had also worked constantly for empowering women, Rahul said, “In India, people worship ‘devi’ and address women as their mothers or sisters. But often, the same people then molest women in buses and suppress them.”

The Congress leader went on to say that changing the national thought process towards women was the most important step towards addressing their needs. “The society will not change only by implementing laws. It will develop by changing the mindset of the people,” he said.

“We need to empower women, give them power and share their pain,” said Rahul Gandhi. Rahul also said that “a tsunami of Mahila Congress will sweep the nation like the one in 2005.”

Rahul Gandhi also took a dig at the Modi government, saying that “this government’s perception is that a women should be worshipped but not empowered.”

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had also earlier said that 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.

“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.

(With inputs from IANS)