Will pass women's reservation bill if Cong comes to power: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday promised to strive for the passage of women's reservation bill in Parliament and a policy of zero tolerance towards atrocities on women if his party comes to power.

"There is an urgent need to provide reservation for women in state assemblies and Lok Sabha to ensure their empowerment. The Congress is keen to ensure this," Gandhi said during an interaction with women at a convention in Jeypore town of Odisha's Koraput district.

"If the Congress comes to power, our approach will be zero tolerance towards atrocities against women. They should get speedy justice," Gandhi said.

Referring to Odisha, Gandhi said if the grand old party is voted to power in the state, all women would be provided free education, be it in engineering or medical or any other field.

"All women, particularly tribals, Dalits and those belonging to the backward categories should get free education to ensure they are truly empowered," Gandhi added.

At the outset, the Congress chief congratulated women on the occasion of International Women's Day.