lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 13, 2019 14:53 IST

The law should apply equally to all and not selectively, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said at an interaction with college students in Tamil Nadu capital Chennai on Wednesday. Gandhi, 48, was responding to questions from students who had asked him about the probe against his brother-in-law Robert Vadra in a money laundering case.

“Investigate Mr Vadra but also investigate the Prime Minister,” Gandhi said, a reference to the many allegations that the Congress has leveled against PM Narendra Modi over the deal to buy Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. The row over Rafale has been a running theme in Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against the BJP-led national coalition.

“The government has every right to investigate every person. Law should apply to everybody equally not selectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his name in government documents that say he is directly responsible for negotiating parallelly with Dassault Aviation on Rafale. Investigate everybody, be it Mr Vadra or the prime minister,” he said.

In his dig at PM Modi, Gandhi, “How many times have you seen the Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing in the middle of 3,000 women and face questions like this? How many times have you seen him standing here like this being open to any question from anybody?”

During his interaction, Gandhi promised that if his party is voted to power in the Lok Sabha election, it would get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed to ensure greater representation of women in Parliament and state legislatures. He also promised to enact a law for 33 per cent quota for women in government jobs should the Congress wins the parliamentary polls.

“The way Indian women are treated leaves a lot to be desired…If you go to Uttar Pradesh, go to Bihar and see how women are treated there, you will be shocked to know,” Gandhi told youngsters at the Stella Maris College.

The Congress president said, “Women should be at the same level as men…I look at Parliament, state legislatures, I don’t see enough number of women there…We have decided that we are going to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2019…We are going to reserve 33 per cent jobs for women.”

“Women are smarter than men,” Gandhi said during his interaction with college students in Chennai.

The Congress president attacked the Modi government accusing it of attempting to impose “one ideology” on the entire nation ignoring the diverse culture of the country. “There is currently an ideological battle going on in India,” he said.