Jaipur, April 16 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday asserted that the Congress has always been a strong supporter of women’s reservation, stating that the vision dates back to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who pioneered the inclusion of women in grassroots democracy.

In a statement, Gehlot said the credit for bringing lakhs of women into political leadership over the past 25–30 years goes to Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress, which introduced reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and local bodies.

“It was Rajiv Gandhi’s dream to empower women politically, and that vision transformed rural governance across the country,” he said.

Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former Rajasthan CM said that acknowledging Rajiv Gandhi’s contribution and the efforts made during the UPA government would have helped create a positive atmosphere in Parliament.

“If the Prime Minister had recognised these contributions, it could have fostered better coordination between the treasury benches and the Opposition. Instead, he attempted to mislead the nation by suggesting that Congress and other Opposition parties are against women’s reservation, which is far from the truth,” he added.

Gehlot emphasised that there is broad consensus across political parties in support of women’s reservation.

“No one is opposing women’s reservation. However, concerns are being raised about the possibility of pushing delimitation under its cover. On such a crucial issue, it is important to ask whether all states, including southern states, and key stakeholders were consulted,” he said.

He further questioned whether the Prime Minister had engaged with the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to build consensus on the matter.

“This was an opportunity to unite all sides on a historic reform, but it was not utilised constructively,” he remarked.

Highlighting the Congress’s legacy of women’s empowerment, Gehlot noted that the party had enabled the country to have its first woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and first woman President, Pratibha Patil. He also cited the example of Meira Kumar serving as Lok Sabha Speaker.

“In contrast, the BJP has never had a woman as its national president,” he said.

–IANS

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