By IANS,
New Delhi : Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Friday said the passage of the women’s reservation bill in parliament would be the realisation of her late husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s vision to politically empower women.
Addressing a meeting of Congress office bearers and state party chiefs here, she said : “Women reservation bill… when it comes to fruition, it would be the realisation of Rajiv Gandhi’s vision to empower women politically.”
The meeting was organised to finalise programmes for the party’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
The state unit chiefs passed a resolution lauding the leadership provided by Sonia Gandhi in getting the women’s reservation bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, party sources said.
The bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha Tuesday, provides for 33 percent reservation for women in parliament and the state legislatures. It is yet to be passed by the Lok Sabha and no dates have been decided so far for discussing the bill in the lower house of parliament which will go for a near four-week recess next week.
Addressing the meeting, Gandhi laid stress on the 125th anniversary celebrations conveying the message of the party’s “abiding commitment to the empowerment of aam aadmi (common man)”.
She said the year-long commemoration will be launched “by holding a special public function at Jallianwalla Bagh in Amritsar April 13, a date which symbolises the sacrifice and martyrdom of thousands of men and women and holds emotional and patriotic appeal for people.”
Listing the Right to Information Act, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Education and women’s reservation bill as among the significant achievements of the government, she said programmes to commemorate the party’s 125th anniversary “must not be simply routine”.
“The message must be properly articulated, drawing on the past, building on the present and projecting a vision for the future,” she said.
The Congress president said effective coordination was essential between state unit presidents, chief ministers, legislative party leaders and the general secretaries in charge of the states.
Citing the results of the 2009 general elections, she said these were an affirmation of the abiding faith of the people in the values and programmes of the Congress.
She said young people must be made aware of the history of the struggle for Independence. “We need to reach out to them as they hold the key to the future.”
She said the AICC national preparatory committee has drawn up a list of historical landmarks in the freedom struggle, including those of the “satyagrahas” of Mahatma Gandhi, and befitting activities should be held at venues associated with these events. “No other party can claim to have a legacy as rich as ours,” she said.
Gandhi said the party was planning a series of national seminars, each of which is associated with freedom struggle. A list of significant Congress resolutions was being compiled and a primer was being prepared for party workers.
The Congress president said the party will also bring out a number of publications to mark its 125 years. She said four volumes of the history of the party were published during the Congress centenary and two more were being published to cover the years since 1964.
The year-long celebrations will culminate in a special session in December 2010 when the party will complete 125 years of its existence.
State presidents told the meeting about the programmes chalked out by them to commemorate the party’s 125 years.