In an unprecedented move, India’s main opposition Congress party has given 40 percent of its tickets to female candidates for the ongoing assembly elections in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, also the country’s most populous with more than 200 million residents.
The driving force behind the Congress move is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the party’s current president, Italian-born Sonia Gandhi. Priyanka is also the younger sister of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Despite belonging to India’s most prominent political family, the 50-year-old – married to businessman Robert Vadra and mother of two children – is a late entrant to active politics and had so far confined herself to campaigning for her mother and brother during the parliamentary elections.
That changed in 2019 when she was given the charge to turn Congress fortunes around in politically-crucial Uttar Pradesh, a state the party ruled for decades before the rise of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and caste-based regional parties in the 1990s.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Priyanka shares her views on the need to empower more women, the BJP’s religious politics targeting minorities, mainly Muslims, and what her party is doing to resist it.
Al Jazeera: What was the idea behind giving 40 percent tickets to female candidates in Uttar Pradesh? Are you doing this knowing fully well that it is not a state where Congress has a significant presence? In other words, since you know you won’t win many seats, then why not make a strong feminist statement?
Priyanka Gandhi: I would say that’s a rather cynical way of looking at what is a pioneering step forward for the full participation of women in Indian politics. Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India, it greatly influences the nation’s politics. It also happens to be one of the most deeply entrenched patriarchies in the world. What we are doing is challenging this patriarchy right from within it. The idea, not just of giving 40 percent tickets to women, but also of creating a separate manifesto for their empowerment by giving them employment opportunities, laying out plans for their health, education, safety and upliftment is to give them their rightful due. Women are treated with condescension as a political force by most political parties in India. An example of this is that the ruling party’s flagship programme for women addresses them as “daughters” and consists of handing them one free gas cylinder per year!
In a polity divided into the lines of caste and religion, women can be an immense driving force for change if they consolidate and become cognisant of their own collective political power. They can be instrumental in lifting the politics of the nation above narrow divisions and demanding a focus on development, health, education, employment, economics and other issues that deeply affect the public. It is essential to bring women to the centre of political agenda and discourse. We are happy to have spearheaded this change.
Congress party’s Priyanka Gandhi waves to supporters during a roadshow in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh [Sanjay Kanojia/AFP]
Al Jazeera: Do you expect the move to give Congress dividends in the long run or is this a one-off thing? What are the steps to create a political culture that gives women more visibility in Indian politics, particularly in your party?
Gandhi: It is certainly not a one-off thing. In the last three years since I have been given charge of UP, we have consistently stood up for women. Whether it was the Unnao rape cases, the Shahjahanpur case, the Hathras case, or for that matter most cases of heinous crimes against women, as well as other issues affecting women like the dismal wages being paid to assistant teachers or front-line health workers, the Congress party not only fought for justice for them but was instrumental in pressurising the government to take action. We will continue to fight for women with even more strength in the future.
On the political front, we have fielded 40 percent of women candidates in this election. We will encourage and support them to nurture their constituencies and become the voice of women in Uttar Pradesh. Many of them are brilliant women, brave and driven with the ambition to help their sisters. Some of them have suffered immense hardships. These include the mothers of rape victims, a lady who was belaboured by the police simply for taking a representation demanding an increase in wages to the chief minister, another whose clothes were torn off in public when she presented herself for a local election, another whose daughter was gang-raped and imprisoned on false charges two days after her wedding.
They are extremely courageous women and I see great potential in them. It has not been easy for them to transition into a political role, many have faced resistance from society and even internally from within our party but they have been remarkably resilient. On my part, I have fully supported and protected them. Aside from this, we will encourage even more women to fight the corporation and municipality elections in October and we will create an influx of young women leaders in our party organisation so that we become a fighting force for the empowerment of women in politics.
Al Jazeera: You also gave tickets to Muslim activists like Sadaf Jafar and the mother of a Muslim man killed during anti-citizenship law protests. What did you have in mind when you decided on their names?
Gandhi: Whether it was Sadaf, the mother of rape victims, the mother of an innocent boy killed during the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) movement, the tribal boy in Sonbhadhra or many others like them whom we have given tickets to, each had one thing in common: the crimes against them were perpetrated by those who either had political power themselves or were connected to it. Giving them tickets to fight the election was to send a strong message that political power rightfully belongs to the people of this country. It is meant to enable and uplift them, not to oppress and destroy them. We said to them: “Power did this to you, now take it into your own hands and fight for yourself. Use it to help others who suffer like you did.”
Priyanka Gandhi speaks during the release of the Congress party’s manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh elections, in New Delhi [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Al Jazeera: Uttar Pradesh is considered one of the unsafest places for women. What are some of the things you hope to change if you get into a position to influence political decisions?
Gandhi: We have proposed many steps to improve safety for women in our women’s manifesto. If we form the government in Uttar Pradesh, 25 percent of all recruits into the police force will be women so that policewomen are present at every police station to assist victims of crimes against women. Presently, when such crimes are committed, in most cases the police and administration protect the perpetrator. The first information reports (FIRs or police reports) are not filed, the woman’s family is pressurised and the woman herself is vilified and blamed. We intend to bring in a law that allows punitive action to be taken on any public servant who impedes the filing of an FIR within 10 days.
We are proposing a six-member special empowered commission consisting of female judges, activists and senior civil servants to look into cases of vilification and persecution of female victims of crime and their families. We have also announced that we will form a legal cell with female members active and available in every district to assist victims of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence etc. More than anything else, I would like to be able to effect a change in the social and political mindset of people. I believe that bringing women’s issues to the centre of public discourse and the increased participation of women in politics will drive this change.
Al Jazeera: The ruling BJP is trying its best to polarise the UP election along religious lines. What is Congress’s plan to counter this narrative?
Gandhi: The BJP has a two-pronged strategy to garner votes in every election. It polarises the electorate and it distributes rations and doles in a year or so before the election. Both these aspects of the BJP’s strategy reveal its truth. Its policies are designed to benefit its monopolist financiers and ensure that a large section of the populace remains poor. Its performance on employment, inflation, support to small and medium industries and strengthening agriculture has been abysmal.
Keeping people poor makes them dependent on, and grateful for, the paltry doles handed out to them. Sowing divisiveness in their minds enables the discussion to be fully diverted from governance and delivery. The BJP uses issues that emotionally charge the public, divide the electorate along religious and caste lines and ensure that it remains in power.
Priyanka Gandhi, left, waves during a roadshow for assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]
I believe that driving a change of narrative towards development, jobs and opportunity for women and young people can counter the BJP’s divisive narrative or for that matter the caste-based politics of other political parties too. India has the largest youth population in the world. The current narrative is making use of this youthful population by directing its energy towards divisiveness and negativity. This same youthful energy can be directed towards a more positive and constructive national agenda. Bringing to the fore the fact that divisiveness does not resolve the immense problems being faced by the public is extremely important. People are indeed suffering. A recent survey of vulnerable households across 14 states revealed that 66 percent of households had been hit by income loss, 45 percent are in debt and 79 percent have faced food insecurity in the last two years. These are staggering figures.
On another note, I strongly believe the hypermasculine, jingoistic narrative of the BJP can be countered by a hyperfeminine, egalitarian narrative. By hyperfeminine, I mean a movement that aggressively asserts femininity and demands equality across the board. Women can effectively consolidate and alter the political narrative. Women are the backbone of society, they must be made to understand that they can also be the backbone of politics in the country. They can drive change.
Al Jazeera: What took you so long to enter active politics? And are you the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh?
Gandhi: My brother and I had a rough childhood as both my grandmother in whose home we grew up and my father was assassinated when we were very young. I wanted my children to have a simple and normal childhood. I did not want to expose them to the harshness of public life so I stayed out of politics except for managing my mother’s and brother’s constituencies and focus on bringing them up and making sure I was there for them. And I am not the Congress party’s chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh. I think it would be premature to make such assumptions. Let’s wait till the results are out.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
