india

Updated: Mar 08, 2019 23:38 IST

In a special gesture on International Women’s Day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi promised to make every effort to get the women’s reservation bill passed in Parliament if his party came to power after the general elections.

“We brought reservations for women in panchayats and women greatly benefitted. Now there is an urgent need to provide the same in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha. Look at Odisha. There are just two women ministers,” Gandhi said Friday at an interaction with women.

Gandhi then switched to the issue of loan waivers and trained guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. “Odisha has no dearth of resources, mines, forests and water. But it is being snatched from you. Modi has waived off loans of 15 industrialists.... But when the farmers of Odisha demand a loan waiver, both Modi and Naveen Patnaik say they will not go for it.”

He kept the heat up on the BJP in Goa too, saying the probe into the missing Rafale files should begin with chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He referred to a leaked recording of a conversation between Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane and an unnamed person, in which Rane is heard saying that Parrikar told his cabinet ministers that he had the missing files. “The Indian government says files are ‘gayab’ (missing)... If you want to start an enquiry, then start with Parrikar. Parrikar has said clearly in the cabinet — it is taped — that Rafale files are with me...” Both Rane and Parrikar have termed the version doctored.

South Goa BJP MP Narendra Sawaikar said, “I do not want to comment on the proceedings... but considering Rahul Gandhi’s statements, he should be the first one to be probed.”