Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Monday that the day is not far when women will get proper representation in Parliament and legislative assemblies through a constitutional amendment.

Dhankhar said this while participating in a dialogue programme on the topic of “Women’s Participation in Nation Building” with the students of the Maharani Mahavidyalaya, affiliated to the Rajasthan University, here.

Interacting with the girl students, the vice-president said the sky is the limit for women as they are creating new models of success in every field, including administration, Army and in the corporate world.

He asked women to take their own decisions and become financially self-reliant. “Do not copy men, they are not better than you, keep yourselves original,” he added.

Dhankhar gave three mantras to the girl students — never get stressed as nothing is achieved by that, never be afraid of failure and if a good idea comes to your mind, implement it on the ground.

He appealed to youngsters not to get overly competitive and said they should choose their careers in accordance with their interest.

The vice president expressed confidence that the day is not far when women would get their due representation in Parliament and legislative assemblies through an amendment to the Constitution. He asserted that if women get this reservation soon, India will become a world power before 2047.

Talking about education for women, Dhankhar said by educating a boy, only one family achieves progress, but when a girl gets educated, several families benefit from it.

Replying to a question asked by a student on women’s safety, Dhankhar said it is not only the work of the government machinery but the society, individuals and institutions will have to make joint efforts to create a safe environment for women.

Asserting that anti-social elements should be dealt with strictly, he expressed happiness that the country is about to change the penal code made by the British.

The vice president said he derived all his strength from his maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother, mother and wife. “There were many ups and downs in my five-decade-long public life, but these women stood behind me as firm as a rock,” he added.

Highlighting the change in the attitude towards women in the country, Dhankhar said he has promoted the gender-neutral word “chairperson” in the Rajya Sabha instead of “chairman”. He said the “Panel of Vice-Chairman” is now called the “Panel of Vice-Chairperson”.

“For the first time, I have appointed 50 per cent women in the panel of the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha and their performance has been excellent,” he added.

Dhankhar also said whenever he decides the names of delegation members for a trip within the country or abroad, he gives priority to women.

He said there have been many attempts to hinder the progress of women but now, the society’s attitude towards them is changing.

“For the first time in 2019, 78 women MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha. The world cannot achieve progress without the contribution of women,” Dhankhar said.

Praising the role of women scientists in the success of Chandrayaan and the Aditya Mission, he said India will change the world on the basis of its women power.

“During my visits abroad, I have seen that a representative from India is viewed with great respect. Ten years ago, India was counted among the weak five countries and today, India is among the top five economies of the world and soon, it will be the third-largest economy,” he said.

Stressing that wastage of natural resources, such as electricity, water and fuel, should be stopped, Dhankhar said human beings are the trustees of these resources, which should be used according to their requirement.

The vice president appealed to youngsters to perform their fundamental duties alongside enjoying their fundamental rights.

He also said there should be no compromise on economic nationalism for the sake of little monetary gains while wondering why articles such as toys and earthen lamps for Diwali decoration should come from outside the country.

Seeing his former professors present in the auditorium, Dhankhar, who is an alumnus of the Rajasthan University, said it is an auspicious day for him as he got an opportunity to meet his teachers on the eve of Teacher’s Day.

Dr Sudesh Dhankhar, Vice-Chancellor of the Rajasthan University, Professor Rajeev Jain, principal of the Maharani Mahavidyalaya, Professor Nimali Singh and other teachers were present on the occasion.