Industry associations have begun giving platform to the political leaders to have their say on various aspects of challenges be it economic, political or social.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) invited Rahul Gandhi at its AGM last week to make his political pitch. Rahul gave his concept for the need of active interaction between the centre of power and the gram pradhans.

Just on the heels of the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s address at CII, the rival industry body, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) invited the BJP leader and the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to spell out his views.

Modi, an eloquent speaker in his own way, missed no opportunity, in raking up gender issues and hitting out at the Congress while addressing the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on Monday.

In his 70-minute interaction, the BJP leader used the forum to strongly advocate women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship as prerequisite to help India become an economic powerhouse.

He invoked the concept of “matrishakti ki gaurav” which had helped the country to prosper in earlier days. “As we kept getting modern, our negatives have gone up,” he said and narrated incidences of female foeticides leading to increasing skewed gender ratio and social problems.

In the 18th century the girl was allowed to take birth even tough she was killed in infancy. But now the girl is killed in the womb, he said.

'In our culture, mothers have the highest place. But a lot of bad things have crept into our society. In the 18th century female foeticide had started,.' Modi said.

“If we are to build modern India, we will first need to restore the dignity of women,” the Gujarat Chief Minister said.

Even tough Modi is yet to disclose his ambition for being the BJP prime ministerial candidate, one women asked what he intends to do about women’s reservation in politics “when you come to power at the Centre” This led to vigorous clapping

But Modi shot back putting the Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal in a tight spot. He said that the Gujarat Assembly passed a Bill intending to reserve 50% seats in local bodies for women, but the Governor has kept it pending.

The Gujarat Chief Minister missed no chance in having a dig at the Congress or Rahul Gandhi.

He said that since assuming office in 2001, his Government has been busy in filling up the pits created by the Congress government, but admitted that more needs to be done. “You can imagine what massive pits the Congress created !”

Playing safe in the same breath, the Gujarat Chief Minister said “everyone has some weakness or the other. I too have shortcomings. No individual can correctly evaluate himself.”

He disclosed some steps taken in Gujarat to empower women which included the stamp duty waiver if the property was registered in women’s name and making mother’s name mandatory in school records. The Gujarat Government provides special status and grants to villages that elects women sarpanchs

Referring to the entrepreneurship of a Gujarati woman Jassubhen who populaised her pizzas he said that she was no fake one unlike “Kalavati” – a farmer’s widow who committed suicide in Vidarbha and quoted by Rahul Gandhi in Parliament,

He lauded the role of tribal women in Gujarat in popularizing Lijjat papad which has become a household name. He also praised the tribal women who have become forest guards at Gir Forest

Modi again invoked the name of Mahatma Gandhi as he did in his speech at Sri Ram College in Delhi on February, this year.

He regretted that despite these evidences women are not part of effective decision making process even today