Kiren Rijiju Reacts To Rahul Gandhi’s Women Power Video With ‘Change Of Heart’ Remark
Rijiju targets Gandhi over his women empowerment message.
A war of words broke out between Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on social media over women's representation and the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act. The exchange began after Gandhi shared a video highlighting the need for women to have greater freedom and space to express themselves. Rijiju responded by calling the message positive while questioning whether it reflected a change in the Congress leader's position on the Women's Reservation Bill.
Responding to Gandhi's video, Rijiju posted on X that there appeared to be a "change of heart" in the Congress leader's position on women. He said Gandhi's message was a positive one and then linked it to the Women's Reservation Bill. Rijiju expressed hope that the Congress would support the legislation unconditionally, bringing the ongoing political disagreement over women's quota into the exchange.
Gandhi responded by questioning why the Centre was linking women's reservation with delimitation. He pointed out that the Women's Reservation Bill, passed by Parliament in 2023 with Congress support, had already become law. Gandhi questioned why its implementation had not taken place and accused the government of unnecessarily connecting the issue with delimitation. He called on the Centre to implement the 2023 law without conditions.
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The disagreement comes amid a broader political dispute between the government and opposition parties over delimitation and the implementation of the 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies. The Women's Reservation Act provides for the quota, while its implementation is linked to the completion of a delimitation exercise. Congress and several opposition parties have been demanding that the women's quota be implemented without waiting for changes in the strength of legislative bodies.
Gandhi's remarks on women came in a video message shared on Friday, following his response during a social media question-and-answer session a day earlier. He spoke about the need to give women greater freedom to express themselves and participate fully in society. Gandhi argued that women's empowerment should extend beyond representation in business and politics to their freedom within families and their ability to express their views without restrictions.
The Congress leader also criticised what he described as patriarchal restrictions on women and said greater freedom was essential for India's development. A day earlier, responding to a question about young women fighting for their right to study, Gandhi had described India's women as the country's strength and biggest asset. The latest exchange with Rijiju has brought the political debate over women's reservation and its implementation back into focus.
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