'Nari Nyay': Ahead of polls, Congress announces 5 guarantees for women

Maharashtra: Ahead of polls, Congress announced five guarantees for women under the `Nari Nyay' programme.

These include Rs one lakh per annum to one woman each in the poorest families across the country and fifty percent reservation in government jobs.

Congress promised to provide Rs one lakh to one woman each of India’s poorest families every year.

The announcement was made by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, while addressing the ‘Mahila Melawa’ Meeting, through a video message.

Kharge said unlike the BJP’s promises, Congress guarantees are not hollow like their jumlas. He said Congress has a record of implementing all the promises and guarantees it has made to people before elections in the past and will do it again.

Addressing the rally, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi explained the five guarantees in detail.

The first guarantee, he said, is named the “Mahalakshmi” guarantee under which, Rs one lakh per annum direct cash transfer will be made to one woman from each of India’s poorest families.

Asserting that it would be a revolutionary step in elevating the plight of the poor, Gandhi remarked, if Narendra Modi can waive off Rs 16 lakh crores debt of a few billionaires, why can’t the poor women get Rs one lakh each every year?

The second guarantee, he said, is named “Aadhi Aabadi, Poora Haq”, under which fifty percent of jobs in the Central Government will be reserved for women. Very soon you will find half of the government offices filled with women, he remarked.

Under the third guarantee “Shakti ka Samman”, the former Congress president said, the central government’s contribution towards the monthly pay of ASHA, Anganwadi, and mid-day meal workers will be doubled. This will help in substantially increasing the monthly remuneration of these lady workers, he added.

The fourth guarantee, “Adhikar Maitri”, he said, will provide for the appointment of an ‘adhikaar maître’ for legal support in every panchayat to serve as a paralegal to educate women and assist them in the enforcement of their legal rights.

The fifth guarantee, “Savitri Bai Phule Hostels”, Gandhi said, will again be a revolutionary measure as it will provide hostels for working women in every district headquarters across the country with proper security and food arrangements.

Gandhi reiterated that besides the “Nari Nyay” guarantees, it has already announced some other guarantees including the caste census followed by economic and financial surveys not only of the people but also the institutions and organizations to find out the share and participation of different sections of people across the country.

He said it would be a revolutionary step like the country’s independence, the Green Revolution, the White Revolution, and the Computer Revolution, all of which were transformational for the country.

Gandhi also announced that the 33 percent reservation bill passed in the parliament whose implementation has been postponed for ten years by the BJP, will be implemented immediately once the Congress forms government at the centre after the 2024 General Elections.

He alleged that the BJP deliberately delayed the implementation of the law by ten years as it had no intention to provide reservation benefits to women. He said, the BJP made an excuse for a survey and the Congress will not wait for any survey.