Rahul Gandhi promises 33% quota for women in govt jobs at national level if Congress voted to power

Chennai/New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday announced that if his party comes to power it will reserve 33 percent of all government jobs at the national level for women. In the first such poll promise for women, Gandhi said there were not many women in leadership position. “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,” he said while interacting with students of Stella Maris College for Women in Chennai. [caption id=“attachment_6252521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress President Rahul Gandhi at Stella Maris Women’s College in Chennai. PTI[/caption] “One of the things that we have decided that in 2019 we are going to pass the women’s reservation bill in Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas and we are also going to reserve 33 percent of all government jobs at the national level for women,” the Congress chief said. He asserted that women cannot be empowered in India unless the attitude towards them changes. “I am a believer that women should be pushed into places of leadership. Generally, women are smarter than men,” he said to huge applause from the students. Later, speaking at a press conference in Chennai, Gandhi repeated his party’s pitch saying: “We have taken a decision in our manifesto that we are going to pass women’s reservation (bill)…We have also taken the decision at the national government level, to reserve 33 percent of all jobs for women.” Congress’ manifesto committee chairman P Chidambaram later tweeted that Rahul Gandhi has announced the party will reserve 33 percent of all “posts/vacancies for women in Central government, central govt organisations and CPSUs”. Later, responding to a question on the announcement made by Gandhi, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said there is provision for both horizontal and vertical reservation. “The 50 percent cap is on the reservation for SC/ST and OBCs. When we speak about granting rights of reservation to women and girls then it cuts across and it does not deny general category women from competing there. So, I don’t think it reduces the general category jobs at all,” he said. “What the Congress Party envisages is very well within the confine of the constitutional protections granted under Article 15-16. Wherever needed, we will bring special legislation, we will ensure…that India’s girls and women have a 33 percent right as far as reservation goes,” he said.