Rajiv Gandhi the architect of Modern India : Deepak Singh

Leader of the Congress in Legislative Council, Deepak Singh on Wednesday called former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi the architect of Modern India, who ensured women empowerment and brought about the IT revolution in India.

"Rajiv Gandhi made Constitutional changes introducing 33 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj, lowering the age of voting to 18  years thereby facilitating participation of youth in selecting governments, bringing IT revolution to the country etc,” asserted Singh. 

He was speaking in the one-day seminar on `Rajiv Gandhi and Women Empowerment’ organised by Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle in Lucknow University on Wednesday. 

Singh, who was the chief guest, said that Rajiv Gandhi was the first leader who viewed that the country could not progress or step into the 21st century until women of the country did not get equal representation both in policy making and in the implementation stage. 

"It was Rajiv Gandhi who decentralised power by bringing in Panchayati Raj Bill and later to empower women in district and lower-level development committees, introduced a Bill facilitating 33 percent reservation to women in Panchayat and other civic bodies,” pointed out Singh.

"It is only due to Rajiv Gandhi that the youth of the country is enjoying every IT gadget which the youth of other developed countries were enjoying," he said.  Speaking on the occasion, Co-ordinator of Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle, Vinod Chandra said that education and participation in development was a very important tool and this is what Rajiv Gandhi did by empowering women and weaker sections of this country.