Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri on Thursday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech hitting out at DMK MP A. Raja and Dindigul Leoni, contending that his speech lowered the dignity of office of the Prime Minister and it only showed that the AIADMK-BJP combine was set to lose the Assembly election.
Mr. Alagiri said Mr. Modi’s statement that the DMK-Congress alliance was against women and the speech of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, claiming that if the DMK alliance came to power in Tamil Nadu, women won’t be safe, were highly condemnable.
The DMK, the Congress and the Communist parties in the State had for long fought for women’s rights, he said, adding that Indira Gandhi had served as Prime Minister for 15 years and was praised worldwide for her leadership.
He said it was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who led the efforts to table the Bill for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies in 2010 and it was passed in the Lok Sabha. “But it was the BJP and other Opposition parties who stalled its passage in the Rajya Sabha and put it in cold storage for 11 years. The BJP government has not even tried to get the Bill passed or taken efforts for it,” he said.
Mr. Alagiri said the Congress had a legacy of female leaders, who were given importance in the freedom movement.
