HYDERABAD/KARIMNAGAR: International Women’s Day seems to have provided both the Congress and BJP an opportunity to attack Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao with one voice. BJP State unit chief K Laxman and TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy fired salvos at the Chief Minister for not giving any representation to women in the State cabinet. Addressing media persons separately on Thursday, the two leaders said that CM KCR had created a record of sorts in the entire country by not allotting a single ministerial berth to women in the cabinet.
Interacting with media persons in Karimnagar, TPCC chief Uttam alleged that women had remained neglected under the TRS regime during the last four years. “Telangana cabinet is the only one in the country since independence which has no representation of women. Out of nearly two crore women in the State, CM K Chandrasekhar Rao could not find a single woman who could be inducted as a minister into his cabinet,” he said.
Later, addressing a public meeting in Husnabad constituency on the eighth day of Congress Praja Chaitanya Bus Yatra, the TPCC chief said that there were six women ministers in the previous Congress government. He added that women Self Help Groups were authorised to purchase paddy and were allotted ration shops.
Echoing similar thoughts, BJP State unit president K Laxman too tried to corner the Chief Minister over the same issue. “It’s highly condemnable that there is no representation for women in the State cabinet. This shows the CM’s utter disregard for women who constitute half of the population of the State,” he said.
Stating that BJP was the only political party in the country which had been implementing 33% reservations for women across all posts of the party, he added: “There is good representation for women in the Union cabinet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken steps to give fair representation to women at all levels of party posts. In fact, ours is the only party which has more women MPs and MLAs.”