Shimla, April 23
The Himachal Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha on Wednesday held a Jan Aakrosh padyatra in Shimla, accusing the Congress of being anti-women for not supporting the women’s reservation bill. The protest came amid criticism of the opposition INDIA bloc over the bill’s fate in Parliament. The BJP women leaders alleged that the Congress and its allies deliberately opposed the legislation and do not support increased representation of women in Parliament and state assemblies.
BJP MLA Reena Kashyap, state Mahila Morcha president Daisy Thakur, state general secretary Payal Vaidya, and vice president Rashmi Dhar Sood said that developments around the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament had exposed what they described as the opposition’s anti-women stance.
They said the bill, introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was aimed at providing greater opportunities for women in legislative bodies. However, they alleged that the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress worked together to block it.
The leaders further claimed that Congress had, over several decades, limited women’s role in politics and failed to ensure meaningful leadership opportunities. They added that any attempts to empower women had been delayed or weakened by the party, and asserted that women would respond politically to opposition parties in the future.
