JAMMU, Apr 22: Hundreds of BJP activists on Wednesday took out a protest march to the Congress office here to protest against the opposition’s obstruction of the Constitution amendment bill to implement women’s quota.
The Jammu and Kashmir Congress also held a protest at its office against the BJP for their “blatant and desperate assault on democracy under the guise of women’s empowerment.” The ‘Jan Aakrosh Mahila Padyatra’ was taken out by the saffron party’s women wing, led by J-K unit president and MP Sat Sharma, MPs and MLAs, from Maharaja Hari Singh Park in the city. Raising antiCongress slogans, the protestors marched towards the Congress office at Vir Marg and set afire effigies of various opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.
The administration had put up heavy barricades and barbed wire to prevent the BJP rally from heading toward the Congress office. Asserting that the rally was to show their protest against the Congress and its partners, MLA Yudhvir Sethi strongly criticised the opposition parties over the failure to pass the bill in Parliament.
He alleged that parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party opposed the bill due to their “selfish and dynastic politics.” “The Congress is afraid that their dynastic system will collapse, and that is why they rejected the bill,” he told reporters here.
MP Jugal Kishore said today every citizen of India has seen how the progress of women’s empowerment has been halted and their dreams crushed by the Congress and other opposition leaders.
“Crores of women were looking towards Parliament, but their expectations were shattered,” he said.
Criticising the conduct of opposition leaders, he said, “It is painful to see that when a proposal meant for women’s welfare was defeated, opposition parties were clapping. This was not just desk-thumping—it was an attack on the dignity and self-respect of women.” Soon after the BJP protest began, scores of Congress workers also held protest demonstration at its office against the BJP for what they termed a “blatant and desperate assault on democracy under the guise of women’s empowerment.” The protest led by Raman Bhalla, working president JKPCC, was prevented from moving forward as the BJP rally was heading towards the Congress office.
Launching a sharp attack on the BJP, senior Congress leader and spokesperson Namrata Sharma said, “The failure of the bill marks a decisive rejection of the BJP’s attempt to weaponise women’s rights to push through a politically motivated restructuring of India’s electoral framework.” Sharma said the Congress has always stood unequivocally in support of women’s reservation and continues to firmly back 33 percent reservation in legislative bodies. She highlighted that when the 2023 law was passed, the entire opposition, including Congress, supported women’s reservation, reflecting a rare and clear national consensus on the issue, and said that women’s rights should not be reduced to campaign rhetoric or used as a cover for institutional manipulation.
A parliamentary majority does not grant the authority to reshape democratic institutions for partisan gain, she asserted.
The government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement women’s quota and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House on Friday last. (Agencies)
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