New Delhi, Aug 30 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asserted that women are the foundation of India and the country will be strong only after they are empowered. He said that the party will launch the Karnataka's Gruha Lakshmi model across the country. His remarks came after, he along with party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and senior party leaders Randeep Saingh Surjewala and KC Venugopal on Wednesday launched the direct benefit transfer of Rs 2,000 directly into the bank accounts of women in the southern state under 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme. After the programme, in a tweet in Hindi, the former Congress chief said, 'The strength of a building lies in its foundation. Women are the foundation of India - the country will be strong only by their empowerment. Four out of five guarantees given to Karnataka are specially made for women.' 'Gruha Lakshami Yojana, which will deliver Rs 2000 per month to bank accounts, is India's biggest money transfer scheme for women. And, we are now going to implement this Karnataka model ' women-centric system all over India,' Rahul Gandhi, who represents Kerala's Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha said. 'As we complete 100 days in Karnataka government, it gives us immense satisfaction to launch Gruha Lakshmi guarantee where Rs 2,000 per month shall be directly transferred to the accounts of more than one crore women,' Kharge wrote on X. 'This would give them respite from the unprecedented price rise imposed by the Modi government and the BJP. BJP used every possible method to question and stall the implementation of our guarantees. The will of the people of Karnataka prevailed. Today crores are benefitting from these. Financial empowerment of women is the bedrock of progress, and we will continue to make women a central theme for the future of our people,' Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said. In the run up to the assembly elections in Karnataka, Congress had promised five guarantees in the state if voted to power. The Congress had also launched a similar direct benefit transfer scheme for women in Himachal Pradesh after it won in the assembly elections in December last year. /IANS