The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Sonia firm on providing quota for women: Digvijay

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Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Sonia firm on providing quota for women: Digvijay

By Our Special Correspondent

The Congress general secretary, Digivjay Singh, being received by leaders in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

SRIKAKULAM, SEPT. 6. The Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs, Digvijay Singh, on Monday asserted that the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, was determined to ensure reservation for women in Assemblies and Parliament. The number of women would be more in the coming Assemblies and Parliament, he added.

Addressing Mahila Congress workers at the Dr. Ambedkar Bhavan here, he recalled how the Women's Reservation Bill had failed to become a statute because or "lack of political will on the part of the NDA Government."

Mr. Singh said discrimination of women had been prevailing throughout the country. But the Congress had been espousing the cause of women and it was the Congress, which ensured reservation for women in party committees. He exhorted women not to underestimate their own power. "The strength of Congress lies in the grass root level workers, weaker sections, SCs, STs and womenfolk," he said, adding that women needed a more vibrant organisation at the grass root.

The Ministers, Dharmana Prasad Rao and Botsa Satyanarayana, the MLAs -- Appayya Dora, D. Krishna Das, K. Murali Mohan Rao, Naresh Kumar Agarwal and V. Satyavani -- and the DCC president, Palavalasa Rajasekhar, were present.

The district Mahila Congress president, Majji Sarada, presided.

Earlier, Mr. Singh arrived in Visakhapatnam on a three-day tour of north coastal districts. Mr. Singh headed straight to Srikakulam from the airport.

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