Sonia among women INDIA leaders to address DMK’s women’s rights conf

CHENNAI: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and several senior women leaders of INDIA alliance would speak at the "Women's rights conference" to be organized as a part of Kalaignar centenary celebration by the DMK here on October 14.

An announcement made by the party deputy general secretary Kanimozhi said that Chief Minister cum DMK president M K Stalin would preside over the women's rights conference, which would initiate a dialogue on various issues pertaining to women rights, including the immediate implementation of 33% reservation for women in the Parliament and State Assemblies.

The conference would be held at YMCA grounds in the city on October 14.

As per the announcement, Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, NCP working president Supriya Sule, CPIM politbureau member Subashini Ali and CPI national executive committee member Annie Raja would be among the important national leaders of the INDIA alliance to speak at the conference.

Listing out the various women centric schemes implemented by the DMK regime, including the incumbent regime led by Stalin, Kanimozhi said that the women reservation bill, which is a long-time demand of the DMK, has been passed in the Parliament after the BJP forgot it for nine years.

Citing the condition of the Bill that it would be implemented in 2029 after the conduct of census and delimitation exercises, the DMK deputy general secretary said that even the promised 2029 was uncertain and hence it was the need of the hour to hold the conference to create a dialogue on various issues related to women's rights.