Vijaypura: Will pass women's quota bill if elected, says Rahul Gandhi

Vijaypura: An impressive crowd converged at the Gandhi Chowk to get a glimpse of Congress president Rahul Gandhi who embarked on a short road show from Tikota to Vijayapura.

Mr Gandhi visited Tikota to interact with the Stree Shakti Samooha (women self-help groups) before leaving for Vijayapura by road in a bus. He discussed the challenges they face and help expected from the government. As his bus proceeded towards Vijayapura, a large number of curious onlookers and party workers lined up on both sides of the road to see Mr Gandhi.

When the bus entered Vijayapura city, Mr Gandhi stood on the foot board and waved at the cheering crowd. A few of them managed to shake hands with Gandhi despite Special Protection Group (SPG) cover. Soon many others lined up to shake hands with him. The SPG commandos had a tough time driving away people who came too close in bulk to touch him. A grand welcome awaited Mr Gandhi at the Gandhi Chowk where hundreds of party workers received him dancing, whistling and sloganeering. A human pyramid was also formed to welcome him. At the request of a few party workers, Mr Gandhi walked a few distance with them and posed for selfie too. He also had tea and biscuits at a small eatery of a Congress worker in the city.

In Tikota, Mr Gandhi said that his party would get the women's reservation bill passed in Parliament “once it comes to power at the Centre”.

He also asked the party's Karnataka unit to ensure that more women aspirants get tickets during the coming Assembly elections in the state. “We worked towards ensuring reservation for women in Panchayatraj; we had brought a bill aimed at providing reservation for women in Parliament, which the BJP has not implemented till today,” Gandhi said. Addressing a ‘Sthree Shakti Samavesha’ here, he said, “Once the Congress party comes to power in New Delhi, it will do and show you women's reservation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.”