Cong not 'safe' place for women leaders, alleges former Karnataka Congress leader and now BJP member

Bengaluru, Nov 13: A former Congress leader in Karnataka, who is now a BJP member, slammed Congress for being an unfriendly place for women politicians. Women are rewarded in the party only if they danced to the tune of the male politicians, she said, according to a

BJP leader Tejaswini Gowda on Wednesday lambasted her old party saying only if women "compromised on their personnel integrity and satisfied dominant male leaders", they were able to make it big in Congress.

Stressing that sexual harassment, which is rampant in the state, is not a rare case in the grand old party as well, the BJP leader told the media that she had faced harassment when she was in the Congress. She said she was open for a debate on the issue as she could back her statements with evidence.

Gowda added that only those women leaders who were "willing to keep the male politicians happy" could get top posts in Congress.She made the statement while attending a rally in Mysuru, protesting against the increasing rate of sexual crimes against women in the state.

Gowda even dared to make direct references to women leaders in Karnataka Congress. Umashree, a fairly new entrant in the party, was made a minister while Rani Satish, a daughter of a Congress stalewart, has to beg for an assembly ticket and stage a protest in Delhi, Gowda said.

Further she said, "In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress didn't give a ticket to even 10 women candidates. Only Umashree had it easy and I want to know how this was possible", as quoted by Deccan Chronicle.

The Congress values good looks, not hard work or sincerity', alleged Gowda. Sandalwood star Ramya was given a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections only because of her stardom, Gowda said.

However, she added that not all Congress leaders behaved this way towards women.

Oneindia News