On Women’s Day, Congress flays government on quota, safety

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) On International Women's Day, the Congress on Wednesday slammed the Modi government for what the party said was failure to fulfil its promises on reservation for women in Parliament and their safety and security in the country.

The opposition party also reeled out National Crime Records Bureau data to claim that three Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states in the country had recorded the highest number of rape cases across the country.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said he had signed a petition to support the demand that there should be no levy of tax on sanitary napkins, which are proposed to be taxed at 14 per cent under the Goods and Services Tax system.

Even though the Women's Reservation Bill has been passed in the Rajya Sabha, it is yet to be cleared by the Lok Sabha.

Congress MP Sushmita Dev had earlier written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for exemption of sanitary napkins from taxes.

"#WomensDay -Let us pledge to change lives of millions. Sign petition to make Sanitary Napkins Tax Free!#TaxFreeWings," tweeted Dev.

Gandhi attached her tweet in his Twitter message: "Take a step to change the lives of millions of women this #WomensDay. I signed this petition, so shld you, because Indian women deserve better."

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said: "After the implementation of the GST, this essential commodity (sanitary napkins) is expected to be taxed at 14 per cent. Although insignificant in appearance, it will address the key issues of affordability, hygiene and environment."

"We fully support this cause and believe that removal of this tax and making sanitary napkins tax-free will help in overcoming a physical obstacle that women face during their menstrual cycle."

Chaturvedi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not ensuring safety and security to women in the country.

"One of the solemn promises of the Modi government was to provide safety and security and self-respect to the women of this country."

"Unfortunately, Modi and Amit Shah (BJP President) have used this plank of women safety only as a crutch for politicking, rather than making any tangible difference to their cause," she added.

Quoting National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the Congress spokesperson said 4,391 rapes recorded in Madhya Pradesh were the highest in a year in the country.

"Modi should tell the nation whether Madhya Pradesh records the highest number of rapes in the country. BJP-ruled Maharashtra comes a close second with 4,114 rapes per year. Third comes BJP-governed Rajasthan, which has a woman Chief Minister (Vasundhara Raje) but records 3,644 rape cases," said Chaturvedi.

On External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj questioning what the Congress had done to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women, Chaturvedi retorted: "I am in the party today because of women's reservation."

"In our party, there is a lot of space for women. What is the BJP's stand on reservation? Have they given 33 per cent reservation for women (in the party). If Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about equality, why don't we see enough representation of women in Parliament? That is not his priority," she added.

Chaturvedi demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre fulfil the poll promises made before the 2014 general elections on women's issues.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)