Reservation not for a class: Sonia for
including Dalit, rural women
From K.V. Prasad
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 — The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, today reiterated the party’s determination to ensure that 33 per cent reservation for women would not be limited to a ‘certain class’ but percolate downwards.

Addressing a gathering of State Presidents of the Mahila Congress, Mrs Sonia Gandhi said she would prefer that women belonging to Dalits, Adivasis and rural areas were helped by the Congress and mobilised to take their "just place in society".

The organisation of this meeting comes at a time when a section in the party is pressing the leadership to do away with the Mahila Wing since the Congress has amended its constitution to provide for 33 per cent reservation in party posts at all levels.

Aware of the demand and the counter-opinion from the women’s wing, the Congress President advised them to refocus their priority and stressed that the Mahila Congress had a crucial role to play in securing a better social and economic deal for women, especially in the area of empowerment.

She said their primary concern should go beyond preoccupation with posts and election tickets to serious drive towards eradicating illiteracy among women, prevention of child marriage and other issues. She stressed that the Mahila Congress had a crucial role to play in securing a better social and economic deal for women, especially in the area of empowerment, that contribute towards the social and economic backwardness of women in society.

"The Mahila Congress must give itself a new agenda and a new direction", she said adding, "we must network with women who may be outside the political system but are working for social concerns’’.

In this connection, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, mentioned the case of a social worker from Andhra Pradesh, Fatima Bi, whose work recently received world-wide recognition.

Briefing media, the President of the All-India Mahila Congress, Mrs Ambika Soni said among the areas of concern that were expressed today were the need for reconsideration of the ‘dual membership’ concept and for representation of Mahila Congress at all party levels.

Earlier in her opening remarks she said there should be just one membership of the Congress party and the frontal organisation should be given its due share of financial support to run the organisation.

She said the Mahila Congress would in a determined manner enroll maximum primary members with special emphasis on women in order to contest the delegate election at every level of the party and fill the 33 per cent positions reserved for them.

In the transition period till the next organisational elections are held, she hoped, the party leadership would consider nominating women to different party committees in order to fulfil the quota.

The women’s wing, which collected 16 lakh signatures to press for a legislation of 33 per cent reservation in Parliament and State Legislatures, decided to launch a campaign each year.

"This year it will be to eradicate illiteracy of women and each active member of the Mahila Congress will teach one woman,’’ she said.

The Mahila Wing has also suggested that an NGO could be adopted by a section of their members who would work for programmes like adult literacy, health camps and self-employment schemes.