Speaking at the CPI(M) regional convention on dowry, Mrs Brinda Karat said that laws should be strenghtened and police made accountable to register cases and taking steps to put down dowry harrsement.       " Dowry symbolises one of the most balatant practises of discrimination against women in India. It is the reflection of a patriotical notion that exists in India that women are unequal to men" . Unless we do away with this notion, eliminating dowry will be a difficult task".