Former chief minister and opposition leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Congress remains committed to creating new opportunities for women in Haryana.
He was speaking at a women’s conference organised by the Congress party as part of the Haryana Maange Hisaab Abhiyan in Panchkula.
Listing out the welfare measures initiated by the Congress for the benefit of women, Hooda said the Congress government in Haryana had provided a safe environment for women. “After Independence, during the Congress tenure, the first medical college for women in the country was opened at Bhagat Phool Singh Women’s College in Khanpur. For the safety of women, the Congress party had also launched the Ladli Social Pension Scheme,” he said.
Haryana Congress leader Udai Bhan Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the slogan ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ in Panipat but today the condition of women has become pathetic under the BJP rule. “The BJP has insulted this slogan. It has been seen that BJP leaders always stand behind those who misbehave with women and rape them. Be it Brij Bhushan who misbehaved with women wrestlers on the street or former minister Sandeep Singh who molested the state’s junior coach,” he said.
“The Congress party remains committed to women’s advancement. During the monsoon season, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a women’s reservation bill in the House, but the BJP ignored this demand. This clearly shows that the BJP does not want to give reservation to women,” he said. “Every day, five rapes, 13 kidnappings and 46 criminal incidents take place in the state. In the last ten years, crime rates have increased against 96% of the lower classes,” he added.
“Today there is a tax on milk, curd, lassi, cloth, shrouds and fuel used in cremation grounds. Today Haryana ranks first in the country in terms of drug addiction. The BJP government has failed on all fronts of development,” said Udai Bhan.
Campaign committee chairperson and Congress MP Geeta Bhukkal said women were respected during the Congress’s tenure. “The demands of all groups were met without any uproar. On the other hand, during the BJP rule, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and nurses were exploited with batons and water cannons for demanding justice,” she said.
