The Congress Party has a long proud legacy of working to ensure that the women of India get their space, share and rights in India. For us, this is not a matter of electoral calculations but an article of our creed. Our work in this direction began from our very inception. Many of our movements such as the struggle for prohibition, the salt satyagraha, and swadeshi brought lacs of women out of their homes and onto the streets. We have had a galaxy of women leaders and had our first woman National President, Annie Besant in 1917. In 1966, we gave India its first woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and we have ensured that women have held every Constitutional post within India. Our work has not just been in symbolic representation. The Congress has championed legislation such as the Hindu code bill, the dowry prevention bill and reservations in Panchayati Raj that have defended the safety, rights and space of the women of our India.

It is only fitting that it is the Congress that floated and championed the idea of reserving space for women in Parliament and the state legislature of the Country. Despite the Congress’ best effort, this law could not be created in the UPA era. When the Modi government eventually brought the bill to Parliament, the Congress supported it and the bill was passed in 2023. But the patriarchal, anti-women mindset of the RSS and Modi ji could not digest the thought of ensuring a fair representation for women. This is not surprising from an organization that does not even accept women as members, that believes in ideologies that regard women to be the property of men and that shelters and promotes rapists. To derail this initiative, the Modi Government clubbed the implementation of women’s reservation with a restructuring of Parliament that would drown the voice of southern states. It is this that the Congress and every Party concerned about the unity and harmony of India opposed.

The Government must stop playing games with the women of India and implement the women’s reservation provisions immediately. The Congress stands firmly with the women of our Country in ensuring that they get the due space in our legislatures.

Jai Congress. Jai Hind. Jai Jagat