Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy said as soon as the Congress government came to power four women ministers would be inducted in the Cabinet giving them the respect they deserved.
He was speaking at the Women’s Day celebrations held at Gandhi Bhavan under the aegis of the women’s wing of the party. He recalled how six women ministers worked in the previous Congress government and that too handling important portfolios like Home. That was the importance given to women in the party. In the combined Andhra Pradesh it was only Congress that provided interest-free loans to encourage them to create employment opportunities not only for them but also others.
Mr. Reddy also said Telangana formation would not have been possible without women and said it were Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj and Meira Kumar who played the crucial role in passing the bill in Parliament.
The Congress chief recalled AICC Chief Sonia Gandhi’s role in pushing the women’s reservation bill that was yet to be accepted by Parliament. The Modi government had relegated the same to the background and was not even discussing the bill now. Women’s power was in full flow during the Congress governments at the Centre, he said recalling how women went on to become President of the country, Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker and also UPA chairperson. Reservations for women were implemented in the local body elections because of the Congress.
Mulugu MLA Sethakka, Mahila Congress chief Sunita Rao, former MLA Padmavathi Reddy, former Union Minister Renuka Chaudhary, former Mahila Congress chief Nerella Sharada and women presidents of the district Congress units were present.
