Hailakandi, Sept. 10: After assuming the post of All India Mahila Congress Committee president, Silchar MP Sushmita Dev today told The Telegraph that her focus would always be on women.
Acknowledging the role of both AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi in elevating her to the top post, Dev said it was indeed a "proud moment for the women of the state".
She said Rahul told her a few days back that they wanted to give tickets mainly to the young energetic women in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll but there was a scarcity of qualified dedicated candidates.
Rahul also held elaborate discussions with Sushmita.
He told her that women selected for Congress tickets earlier had no say in the policy-making process and they worked as a copy of another person, Sushmita added.
"Considering this, Rahul ji has given me the charge of the women's wing and said, 'I should work for the rejuvenation of party through empowering women'."
"I accept this post with great humility. I thank Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for giving me this opportunity. Rahul ji's vision is to bring more and more women to the forefront socially and politically and I will work towards that. It is Soniaji's commitment to political empowerment of women that brought the women's reservation bill to Parliament and I shall fight for it inside Parliament. As the first All India Mahila Congress president from Assam, I feel proud of my state and thanks the people of Cachar who gave me this place. More than 60 per cent women voted in 2014 election which shows their political awareness is growing. I hope to connect with them in a meaningful way," Sushmita added.
Sushmita replaced Shobha Oza, who held the post from 2013. At present, both are Congress spokespersons.
Sushmita, daughter of former Union minister late Santosh Mohan Dev, is a lawyer by profession.
AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi informed Sushmita in a letter regarding her appointment.
Sushmita started her political career as chairperson of Silchar Municipal Board in 2009. Later, she was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2011 and to the Lok Sabha in 2014.
Sushmita said she would mainly try to bring more women in the Congress as most were reluctant to join the party.
The Cachar district Congress committee is delighted over the appointment.
A spokesman for the committee, Partha Ranjan Chakraborty, said it was a first in the history of Congress that any person from this area has been appointed to such a top post in the party.
He hoped Sushmita would boost the party from the grassroots.
