Bhopal, April 20 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday declared that those who attempted to crush the aspirations of women would be held accountable, warning that even those “hiding in their graves” would not escape justice.
Addressing a rally before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “Jan-Aakrosh Mahila Padyatra” (protest march) in Bhopal, Yadav said the nation would never forgive injustice against women’s rights and urged women to raise their voices boldly across the country. He assured that India’s tradition of respecting women would remain unshaken.
The Chief Minister accused the Congress party of scuttling the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament, alleging that the opposition did not want women to secure their rightful share. He said women would no longer remain silent and that the BJP would stand with them, opposing Congress democratically from the streets to Parliament.
Yadav also launched a sharp personal attack on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, recalling her past slogan “I am a girl, and I can fight,” and questioning her silence as women’s rights were being trampled. He alleged that Congress had a long history of suppressing women’s rights, citing opposition to reforms from the independence era to the Triple Talaq law.
The padyatra, which began at Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalaya ground and concluded at Roshanpura square, saw large participation from women, with Yadav walking alongside them in solidarity.
The protest came in response to the defeat of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, where out of 528 votes, 298 were in favour and 230 against, leading to its failure.
In a counterattack, Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Shobha Oza claimed the opposition had foiled a conspiracy by the Modi-led government, alleging that women’s reservation was being used as a cover for delimitation to monopolise power.
She described the opposition unity as a victory for democracy and the Constitution, while reiterating that Congress had consistently supported women’s reservation. Oza pointed to the party’s record, from Rajiv Gandhi’s proposal of 33 per cent reservation in Panchayats in 1989 to the UPA government’s passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010.
The defeat of the amendment bill has intensified the political debate on women’s reservation, with both the BJP and Congress trading charges and mobilising support, signalling that the issue will remain at the forefront of national politics.
–IANS
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