Sonia Gandhi: Mothers should teach their boys how to respect women in their family and in the neighbourhood

Expressing her pain and anguish over the brutal gangrape incident in Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a strong pitch for starting women empowerment from home at Congress’ Chintan Shivir at Jaipur. "Mothers should teach their boys how to respect women in their family and in the neighbourhood. Women empowerment should start from home," she was quoted as having said.

She spent 30 minutes in the meeting of Congress group on women empowerment headed by MP Girija Vyas.

Earlier, in her opening remarks, Sonia Gandhi asked Congress workers to bring gender issues to "the heart of our political activity" saying the "very disturbing trends" against women and children should wake the party. In her speech, she described atrocities on women as a blot on conscience and a matter of shame, and stressed that gender issues should not just confined to Mahila Congress or women organisations only. "I must say with the greatest anguish and pain that discrimination against the girl child continues. Atrocities on women, both in urban and rural India, are a blot on our collective conscience and a matter of great shame," said Sonia Gandhi.

"The way we still treat widows, the prevalence of female foeticide even in economically prosperous regions, the trafficking of children and women, brazen sexual harassment - these are all very disturbing trends that should shake and awaken us," said the Congress President. "The entire party must understand them, and bring them to the heart of our political activity and change mindset," she added.

Sonia Gandhi believes: Development cannot be complete till the poor are benefitted

For Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, development means welfare of the poor. If the poor and underprivileged sections of the society are not getting the benefits and they are not able to be a part of the path of progress, we can not claim development, she always believed.

That is why Sonia Gandhi while during her campaigns in Gujarat questioned Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s development claims and listed out various issues in the state.. The Congress President therefore had directed voters to give a befitting reply to falsehoods, discrimination and dictatorship in the coming assembly polls on December 13. "Had the government paid attention, you would not have been facing the hardships that you do today," said Sonia Gandhi.

In her campaigns she also dwelt on lack of water and power shortage in Saurashtra. "We tried hard to bring the Narmada water here with the Sardar Sarovar dam. It seems the BJP government forgot to put a canal system in place," she said.

Sonia Gandhi accuses BJP Government in Uttarakhand over misuse of Central funds

All India Congress Presisent Sonia Gandhi while addressing a rally in Uttarakhand as part of her campaign for the Congress alleged that the present BJP Government in state misused the Central welfare funds sent to the state.

Sonia Gandhi blamed the state government for callously misusing funds allocated under different centrally-sponsored schemes, including 100-day job guarantee to jobless under MNREGA and Rashtriya Grameen Swasthya Yojna.

The UPA chairperson contested the BJP government's claim of electrifying a sizable number of villages under another centrally-sponsored Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna. "The reality is just different. The funds meant for it were misappropriated or siphoned for other purposes instead of making full utilization of the funds allocated for electrifying a huge number of villages," said Sonia Gandhi. She said other centrally-sponsored schemes meant for poor women, children and elderly were never implemented "in a genuine spirits and sincerity, as the government had other objectives to fulfill".

This article is posted by pressbrief.in