TUMKUR: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a strong pitch for women's empowerment at his rally on Sunday, and said it's the only way for the country to become a superpower. Addressing a women's rally at Tumkur, 70km from Bangalore, Rahul said the country today was half a superpower because women had not been given equal status. "India will not become a superpower if women aren't given opportunities. We need equal representation for women at all levels to make them empowered," he told a mammoth gathering. Rahul, who is also co-chairman of the Congress campaign committee for the LS polls, was here on a two-day tour. Chanting the women empowerment mantra, he was critical of his own party. "Men outnumber women at this rally. This is the situation the Congress is facing today. Men are preferred over women while giving tickets for assembly and Lok Sabha elections. This has to change and I want more women to attend rallies and participate in the el
GHARAUNDA (HARYANA): Three teenagers were detained on Thursday for allegedly throwing stones at the train in which Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was travelling on Tuesday evening, police said. "Based on our investigation, today (Thursday) we have detained three teenagers from Gharaunda village for questioning. The railway guard had said that the miscreants were in the age group of 16-17 years. So we are focusing on youngsters in the neighbouring villages," said inspector general of police (Rohtak) V Kamaraj. The official ruled out the possibility of political parties being involved in the incident. "Not at all, there is no 
political party involved in it. However, our investigation is still under progress and very soon we will nab the accused," Kamraj said. State police had launched a massive manhunt for a group of young men who allegedly threw stones at the Swarn Shatabdi Express in which Gandhi was travelling from Ludhiana to New Delhi. He took a train instead of the usual helicopter ride as part of austerity measures initiated by Congress leaders. Though no one was injured in the train attack, three coaches, C-2, C-4 and C-7, were damaged. One stone pierced the twin glass window of the Shatabdi Express and landed inside coach C-4. The glass panes of two other coaches suffered damages. However, none of the stones hit the C-3 coach in which Rahul Gandhi was seated, near the window.
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