BJP MP attacks Congress over low women representation in state cabinets
Trivedi questioned Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge’s silence over the absence of women ministers in Congress-ruled states
On Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing critique of the Congress party over the lack of women representation in their state cabinets. BJP spokesman and MP Sudhanshu Trivedi argued that the Congress' commitment to women's political representation is contradicted by their actual record in the states where they hold power, labeling it as a discrepancy between their "words and actions".
Trivedi specifically pointed to Congress' governance in four states - Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Telangana. He noted that none of these states had women ministers in their cabinets, highlighting a "great injustice". The Congress has governments in these four states, but only three women ministers across them, with one of the two in Telangana having been removed.
The BJP's attack comes as Congress has also backed the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023, which aims to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, Congress has criticized the government's decision to link the implementation of this bill to the delimitation exercise. In April, the BJP had introduced the 131st Amendment in Lok Sabha as a proposed amendment to the 2023 women's reservation law.
Trivedi questioned the silence of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on the lack of women ministers in Congress-ruled states. He argued that their position on women's political representation is at odds with their actions in government. Kharge, who had written a letter to Prime Minister Modi regarding the Women's Reservation Bill, was also criticized for his silence.
The BJP leader also raised concerns over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations for the assistant conservator of forest and forest range officer posts in Jharkhand. He alleged that question papers were taken from a secure room and altered. This incident, according to Trivedi, exposed the Congress' "hypocrisy" on the issue of examination reforms and protection of students' interests.
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