Tumkur, Karnataka:
Rahul Gandhi today sought the empowerment of women and said the party's aim was to bring more women forward in the election process.
"India can't be a superpower until we empower women. Wherever women are being empowered and given a chance, those states are progressing rapidly," the Congress Vice-President told an all-women rally in Tumkur in Karnataka.
"We want to give women an equal chance in politics... In panchayats, in the Assembly, in Parliament, more women should be visible," he said.
In an apparent attack on BJP and RSS, Gandhi said that the "opposition does not respect women and their 'ideological sangathan' doesn't have a place for women."
Appealing to women, who constitute more than 40 per cent of the electors, he said, "We want to use your strength in the progress of this country. We want to open doors for women, doors of schools, hospitals and Parliament, as without you, there is no progress."