Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday elicited loud cheers from the crowd when he said he looked forward to Kerala having a woman chief minister.
Addressing a gathering at Puttupalli here, Gandhi spoke of the guarantees announced by the Congress if it comes to power, including free bus travel for women in KSRTC and a monthly assistance of Rs. $1000 for female university students.
He said that the Congress wants women to be active participants in the development of Kerala.
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“In fact, we are looking forward to the day when a woman will be the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said, eliciting loud reactions from the crowd.
He also noted that the men did not applaud enough to make the statement.
“We want Kerala women to achieve their dreams. Whatever they want to do, we want them to succeed,” he said.
He said Congress will ensure that women have the freedom to go wherever they want and pursue jobs of their choice.
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“For this purpose, our guarantees include free travel for women in KSRTC buses,” he said.
No woman has yet been promoted to the post of Chief Minister in Kerala, although prominent leaders, including K.R. Gauri Amma, they play important roles in state politics.
In these elections, the Congress Party has fielded only nine women candidates out of 92, while the United Democratic Front’s allies, the Indian Union Muslim League, have fielded two women candidates, and KK Rama of the Revolutionary Marxist Party is also contesting in the April 9 elections.
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After the event in Puthuppally, Gandhi joined MLA Chandy Oommen and Congress candidate for a bike ride.
Oommen was riding a bike as part of his election campaign.
They both rode a few miles, giving the security personnel a tough time as they had to run after them.
Crowds gathered on both sides of the road and cheered for the leaders.
This story has been published from a news agency feed without modifications to the text.
