Women should join politics for change, says CM Mann at college convocation

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday exhorted young women to join politics and be a part of the decision-making process of the country to bring about much-needed change.

Addressing the annual convocation of the Government College for Girls, Ludhiana, the chief minister said women have outnumbered men in every other field but politics is still an exception.

While politics has been traditionally dominated by men, Mann said, now the time has come for women to excel in it too.

Women's participation is imperative to creating an egalitarian society and cementing democracy at the grassroots, he said.

Mann said women must exercise their franchise carefully so that their vote makes a difference by sending the right type of leaders to the state assembly and Parliament.

 

This will help in making Punjab a progressive and prosperous state in the country, he said.

The state government has made concerted efforts to empower women in the state, the chief minister said.

He said that his government has appointed eight women deputy commissioners and six women have been appointed senior superintendents of police.

Eighteen women officers have been appointed additional DCs, which is the highest number of women posted by any government to these coveted posts, he said.

The CM further said the Punjab government has given more than 52,000 jobs to the youth in the past 36 months.

He said it is a matter of "immense pride and satisfaction" for him that all jobs have been given completely on merit and expressed hope that the youth who got the jobs become active partners in the socio-economic development of the state.

Besides being the nation's food bowl, Punjab also has the distinction of being the sword arm of the country and its people are well-known all over the world for their courage, resilience and spirit of enterprise, Mann said.