Former BJP leader K. Annamalai, who has floated the ‘We The Leaders’ movement, on Friday called for women to constitute half of the State Cabinet. He was addressing an event where he presented the Kamarajar Awards to 10 women from across Tamil Nadu at Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai.
While appreciating the TVK-led government for giving Cabinet berths to more women than previous governments, Mr. Annamalai said he aspired to form a Cabinet with 50% women when his movement came to power.
Sister Rosily (from Kanniyakumari district), founder-trustee of Alert NGO Kala Balasundaram (Coimbatore district), mountaineer Muthamilselvi Narayanan (Virudhunagar district), information technology professional-turned organic farmer Jeevitha (Cuddalore district), Villupattu artist M. Madhavi (Tenkasi district), founder of Popular’s Sevak Trust A. Fathima (Tirunelveli district), student-palymra tree climber P. Harris Karishma (Villupuram district), Carnatic classical violinist C.S. Chinmayi (Chennai), yoga instructor R. Punitha Valli (Chennai), and aerospace engineering student Dhaanvi Karthikeyan (Chennai) were presented the awards.
P. Krishnaveni, former president of the Thalaiyuthu panchayat in Tirunelveli district from the Dalit community, who was brutally attacked by a gang, was chosen to receive the WTL’s Kamarajar Award. However, as she could not receive it in person, she had sent a recorded video message.
During his speech, Mr. Annamalai said initially there was only one woman in the Cabinet and it had gradually increased. “There should be at least 17-18 women in the State Cabinet,” he said, adding that an all-women team was set to be trained in his Kalam Centre on October 15. Mr. Annamalai underlined the significance of training women for politics.
