Be loud, be proud and fight for your space in society was Rahul Gandhi’s “simple message” to women, exhorting them to “smash the patriarchy” while criticising the “Manusmriti mindset”, inviting sharp reactions from the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi placed women, whom he called India’s biggest strength, at the core of his message at an event in Pune, telling them they belong to no one except themselves.
Today, I would like to make a request to the former national president. “What is the mindset? That a girl has a place, she should be locked in a cage, she should be controlled, she should not work, and boys should get full freedom. They can do whatever they want, if they want to abuse they can abuse, if they want to work they can work… But when it comes to passing the Women’s a Reservation Bill, he and his party staunchly opposed it”. The Congress wholeheartedly supported the Bill in both Houses of Parliament,” Chidambaram posted on X. “Former national president of the Congress party stated at an event that he supports women. Prime Minister Modi has appealed to all political parties to cooperate with him in the swift implementation of this women’s reservation law.
Because girls used such a language, the Congress leader said both boys and girls had used abusive language at Jantar Mantar, but the Prime Minister said he felt a cultural shock. I am sure the statement was due to cognitive fatigue. Because the Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill providing for 33% reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and the State legislative assemblies was passed in Parliament in 2023.
Prime Minister Modi has passed a law providing 33% reservation for women across the country, enabling them to enhance the dignity of the nation’s Parliament. I humbly ask him to support the Prime Minister’s initiative, specifically the swift implementation of the law providing 33% reservation for women and enabling them to take on leadership roles in Parliament,” Irani said.
The Congress leader said if you go around asking what’s India’s biggest strength, answers will range from “our economy, our people, our military, our medical system, our people”, but he believes it’s women and then explained how. He also referred to an old statement by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that rape happens in “India” and not in “Bharat”, and former Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar’s alleged comment that 80 per cent of rapes happen because of women. We do not want such Hindustan,” the Congress leader said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called out Rahul Gandhi’s “hypocrisy” for preaching women’s empowerment while opposing the Women’s Reservation Bill. The Chief Minister labelled the Congress as a directionless party of “showoffs and loudmouths”. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram blamed Fadnavis’ statement on “cognitive fatigue” and reminded him that the Congress supported the bill in both houses of Parliament. “CM Maharastra, Mr Devendra Fadnavis is reported to have said: “Rahul Gandhi makes big statements about women empowerment on stage.
