Saturday brought two women from seemingly contrasting points of view to one and the same platform. Social activist Medha Patkar and former banker Meera Sanyal, both Aam Aadmi Party candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, came together at Azad Maidan here to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Ms. Patkar is known for her opposition to development projects like the Narmada dam. Ms. Sanyal headed the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“People think we have different points of view but that is not true. Medha believes in gender equality and so do I. Medha is against social injustice and so am I. So, we have the same principles. The only difference is that we are dealing with different socio-economic classes,” said Ms. Sanyal.
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The idea was to use the day as a platform to reach out to women voters. However, they said, with the model code of conduct in force, they could not go under the AAP banner. Both felt that women voters coming out and voting in this election would make a difference.
“Men have dominated for too long. It is high time that women got their due,” said Ms. Patkar, who addressed a gathering of about 200 women. Ms. Sanyal added: “Women voters will bring about a change. There are certain problems that only a woman can highlight and understand. So, every woman should vote in the election.”