Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary, made a pitch for women to be given election tickets, claiming that women are practical and can put an end to the current hate-filled politics. Gandhi stated that if women make up half of the population, they should be given 50% representation. Gandhi turned to state Congress officials and joked that she needed to "convince these men" that women candidates should be chosen.
She stated, “as women are 50% of the population, it is a right to have 50% of the representation, and it’s not something anybody is doing us as a favour”.
Gandhi emphasised the importance of bringing more women into policymaking, citing a sharp increase in crime against women in Goa. Gandhi stated the following, “a minister in one of these cases blames the girl for the violence that happened against her. And this is typical of a mindset that is unaccepting of the truth, unaccepting of the fact that women are equal. You know that I have been working very hard to bring women into the political process”.
She also stated that women could contribute to national politics by bringing positivity and compassion. Gandhi stated, “politics has become filled with hatred. It’s become filled with anger. I firmly believe that women, being the practical people that we are, and having to always handle so much, actually can bring that positivity that compassion into politics, as well.”
She remarked, “maybe after my work in UP is done I should come here, work hard at convincing these men.”
