New Delhi [India], April 28 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday refuted the claim by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in which the BJP leader recalled a previous conversation, saying that Tharoor had agreed that his party is "anti-women."
The MP from Keralam in a post on his X platform strongly denied the interpretation attributed to him and said his comments were being misrepresented. "I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing - and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that," he said.
Rejecting the Union Minister's claim, he further added, " 'That was what he meant', our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. 'That Congress can be anti-women... he agreed in a way,' he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way."
Tharoor also reiterated the Congress party's stance on women's reservation, citing its legislative record. "@INCIndia has stood for women's rights and women's reservation under a strong woman President in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women's Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by GoI in 2023," he said.
He further asserted, "We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation."
The clarification comes after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had stated that Tharoor had allegedly agreed in principle that the Congress could be seen as "anti-women" in the debate over the Women's Reservation Bill not being passed in Parliament.
In an interview with ANI, a clip of which Rijiju posted on his X handle, the Union Minister recalled a conversation with Tharoor.
"Dr ShashiTharoor and I had agreed on one point. He is definitely not anti-women. May be because... he is highly popular amongst women, or Vice Versa !!" Rijiju posted on X along with the interview clip.
"Shashi Tharoor said to me after the Parliament session ended that no woman would consider him anti-women. I replied that yes, I agree that no one would call you anti-women, but your party is anti-women. In a way, he accepted what I said, and I accepted what he said," Rijiju had said in the interview with ANI.
Earlier, Tharoor wrote on X that during a conversation after the Parliament session, it was pointed out that he personally could not be called anti-women, and Rijiju agreed. He also said women deserve greater representation but warned against linking it to delimitation, which he believes could harm democracy.
"A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister. When Kiren Rijiju explained why he & his party were calling the Opposition "mahila virodhi", it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point. Let's face it, women are by far the better half of the species. They're the improved models: Humans 2.0. They deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution. Just don't link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy," Tharoor said.
At a special session of the Parliament held on April 16-18, a constitutional amendment to the law on reservation of seats for women in parliament and state assemblies- the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill- was defeated in Lok Sabha. It failed to win two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional amendment. The opposition rejected linking women's reservation to expanding the size of the Lok Sabha and a delimitation of constituencies.