New Delhi [India], April 28 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor indirectly acknowledged that his party is "anti-women" in the context of the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill not being passed in Parliament.
In an interview with ANI, Rijiju referred to a post by Tharoor on X after the special Parliament session. According to Rijiju, Tharoor said that while the Congress party might be seen as anti-women, no one would personally consider him anti-women. Rijiju added that he agreed with this but maintained that the party itself is anti-women, claiming Tharoor accepted this "in a way."
"Shashi Tharoor said to me after the Parliament session ended, that Congress may be anti-women, but no woman would consider Shashi Tharoor anti-women. I replied that yes, I agree that no one would call you anti-women, but your party is anti-women... He also accepted in a way that Congress is anti-women," said Rijiju.
BJP leader CR Kesavan supported Rijiju's statement, arguing that Tharoor's remarks expose what he described as the Congress party's inconsistency on women's empowerment. He criticised the party for allegedly prioritising representation within its top leadership while failing to advance broader measures like the 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. Kesavan also accused the Congress of neglecting women's reservation during its decades in power and cited past decisions, including the reversal of the Shah Bano judgment, as setbacks for women's rights.
"A Congress Working Committee member and senior leader conceding that the Congress party is anti-women completely unmasks the hypocrisy of the Congress party. For the unprincipled Congress party, women empowerment is only applicable to only their first family, both Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are members of Parliament [100% reservation] while the Congress party betrays the cause of women empowerment by backstabbing the 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. The Congress party never cared nor bothered to enact women's reservation the 60 years it was approximately in power at the Centre. On the contrary Congress inflicted injustice and disempowered women's rights by regressively overturning the Shah Bano verdict," he said.
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," he said.