'Smartphones, Scootys, Security': Congress' "Women's Manifesto" Before UP Polls

Girls studying in Classes 10 to 12 in Uttar Pradesh schools will get smartphones and female graduate students will get scooters, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Wednesday as part of a six-point "woman's manifesto" ahead of an Assembly election in the state in a few months.

Ms Gandhi Vadra - who is leading her party's campaign in the poll-bound state - read out a number of measures and schemes the Congress plans to implement should it win next year's election, and demanded that all parties understand "the fact women have to bear with exploitation".

Promises made by Ms Gandhi Vadra today include the offer of three free LPG cylinders for women - a significant offer given the skyrocketing prices of gas cylinders in the country, something for which the BJP (in power in UP and at the centre) has been severely criticised.

"I hope this women's manifesto will put pressure on other political parties to also speak about similar issues. We want to release a women-specific manifesto so women have freedom of choice... I have seen that women ka bahut shoshan hota hai but they are fighting for their rights," she said.

Ms Gandhi Vadra also highlighted the Congress' promise to reserve 40 per cent of its election tickets for women; "this is not only on paper," she said, giving late Indira Gandhi - India's first woman prime minister - as an example of the Congress' contribution to women in politics.

"Our attempt is to bring real women's empowerment... at the grassroots level. Women's empowerment is usually spoken about before elections and then mostly restricted to being on paper. We want to actually empower women on ground," the Congress leader said.

"Parliament and legislative assemblies have an average of 14 per cent participation by women representatives. That needs to increase... we want that 40 per cent of all seats should be represented by women. This will increase their participation in policy-making," she stressed.

Apart from smartphones, scooters and free gas cylinders, Ms Gandhi Vadra said women senior citizens and widows would get a monthly pension of Rs 1,000, and every new-born girl will get a fixed deposit in her name. All households with women will get a free internet connection.

Ms Gandhi Vadra also flagged the issue of women's security - a serious subject given the worrying number of violent crimes against women reported from Uttar Pradesh.

"We want 25 per cent of the police to consist of women. All chowkis to have at least one woman officer and constable," she said, reminding reporters that many crimes were unreported as the police is reluctant to file a case. "More women in the force will help the cause of women," she said.

The Congress also promised Rs 10 lakh medical cover for women "for any kind of illness or disease".

UP votes for a new government in a few months time.

The Assembly election here - for 403 seats - is widely seen as an indicator of how the ruling BJP might fare in the 2024 general election, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party will seek a third consecutive term in power.