Mayawati slams Congress' & Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's election 'drama' in UP

Following the "special" press conference by senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday over women empowerment in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati lambasted Congress leaders claiming them of double standards.

"If the concern of the Congress towards women was so reasonable and honest, then why did not their government at the Center make a law to give 33% reservation to women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies?" the BSP Chief asked.

"The nature of the Congress is 'something to say and something to do' which calls into question its intention and policy," she added.

The former UP Chief Minister further lambasted the Congress and said, "When the Congress is in power and they having their good days, they do not remember Dalits, backward, women, and etc. But now when their bad days are not going away, like the Dalits in Punjab, they are remembering women in UP."

Mayawati slams Congress' 'drama" in UP

Mayawati slammed Congress' claim of giving 40% of the tickets in the upcoming 2022 UP elections to women candidates as nothing but an "election drama." Mayawati hit out at Congress and BJP for not having a strong will for providing security and respect to the women throughout their rule which according to her, the BSP had done.   

"In UP and the country, women constitute half of the population. Not only their interest and welfare but also their security, solid and honest efforts towards their respect is a continuous process, which requires strong will, which is not seen in Congress and BJP. The BSP has shown by doing so," the BSP Supremo said.

Congress declares 40% poll tickets for women in 2022 elections

Congress on Tuesday decided to allocate 40% of its poll tickets for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll to women. Flanked by party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and Legislative Party leader Aradhana Misra, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made this important announcement during a press briefing on Tuesday.  This comes at a juncture when the Women's Reservation Bill which aims to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies is pending for several years.

Explaining the thought process behind this decision, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remarked, "If it (proportion of tickets allocated to women) increases here, it will increase at the national level too. I am the UP in charge. We have taken a decision here with everyone's consent. The rationale for this is that women are not coming together to become a force. They are being divided into caste and religion. The political parties feel that they can women happy by giving a gas cylinder of Rs.2000. But the struggle of women is a very long one."

Image: PTI