SHILLONG: With the BJP attempting to make inroads in various states of the North East, All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) president Shobha Oza on Friday said the Congress will counter the growing popularity of the BJP in the region by highlighting and create mass awareness on its alleged communal and anti-secular policies.
“Everyone knows that the BJP is a communal and non-secular party. Therefore, the party with such an ideology will not have any place in the North East. The people of the region have always supported secular party like the Congress,” Oza while addressing newsmen here on Friday.
The Mahila Congress will launch agitations to counter and oppose the ideology of the BJP.
She was confident that the BJP would never be able to match the popularity level enjoyed by the Congress in the North Eastern region.
“The negativity and insensitiveness of the BJP towards the people of the region is reflected in its imposition on how people should eat or live,” Oza said.
Speaking on the proposed bill that guarantees 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures, the AIMC president dared the BJP to pass the bill in the Lok Sabha where the party enjoys absolute majority. “We have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and we will ensure the facilitation of the legislation,” she said.
Earlier, during the meeting, functionaries of the Mahila Committees from across Meghalaya highlighted the financial difficulty besides other problems faced by them before the AIMC president.
Speaking on this, Oza said, “I have instructed the committees here to form self help group to empower the women folk.”
She also informed that the party would start a mahila membership drive soon.
AIMC secretary Shahnaz Haque emphasized on the need for the women to raise their voices against violence and crimes against women.
Referring to the report which states that domestic rape in N-E is quite less since most of the cases were not reported, Haque said, “The Mahila members here should encourage the women to come forward and report such crimes.”
She stressed on the need to educate women in the N-E on the importance of the Congress party at the national level as well as in the region.
The Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee, meanwhile, condemned the promulgation of the Land Acquisition (Ordinance), 2015 by the BJP Government at the Centre, and demanded repeal of the same and adoption and implementation of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The MPMCC also resolved to fight to ensure one-third reservation of seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
The Pradesh Mahila Committee also condemned the recent statement of the NDA Government in the Parliament on the issue of marital rape.
