Exhorting the female voters of Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency to vote in huge numbers on the 10th May, Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary said on Sunday that it was the first time a major political party had fielded a female candidate from Jalandhar and the women of Jalandhar should set a polling record in the by election.
Addressing various public meetings in the Jalandhar Cantt and Jalandhar Central assembly constituencies, she appealed to every woman to turn up at their respective booths on polling day and said that seventy-five years after India’s Independence, a woman had gotten the privilege to contest election from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency and make history.
Accompanied by former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Jalandhar District Congress president Rajinder Beri and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh, Karamjit Chaudhary said that women had an equal stake in the society's development and their voice should be represented in all the public forums. She said the Congress party had taken various initiatives to empower women and make them a part of public institutions.
“Women empowerment has been one of the core objectives of the Congress party. Over the decades, it has implemented several policies for the education and employment of women. To boost their representation in elected and public bodies, Congress brought laws to provide women reservations in the village panchayats, block samitis, zila parishads, municipal councils, etc. Congress has also advocated to reserve 33% of seats in the Parliament and legislative assemblies for women,” she said.
Karamjit Chaudhary stated she was committed to working tirelessly for not just one year, but till her last breath to bring about positive changes in Jalandhar. “Besides special focus on education and empowerment, I will work towards ensuring that the infrastructure of the constituency is strengthened and modernized, and employment opportunities are created for the youth. I will also strive to improve healthcare facilities and security in the constituency," she concluded.