The Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP’s) Mumbai unit on Saturday accused the Congress and other opposition parties of being “against women’s empowerment” over their stand on the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, and staged a protest in the city, news agency PTI reported.
In a post on X, BJP Mumbai said opposition to the Women’s Reservation Act reflected the Congress’ “reluctance to empower women”, alleging that it was attempting to delay implementation of the law by opposing the delimitation process linked to the legislation.
काँग्रेसने 2026 मध्ये महिला आरक्षण विधेयकाला फक्त “विरोध” केला नाही, तर त्याची अंमलबजावणी प्रत्यक्षात येऊ लागली तेव्हाच त्यात अडथळे निर्माण केले.
चला स्पष्ट बोलूया — हे नवीन नाही, हा आता एक ठरलेला पॅटर्न आहे.
📜 इतिहास पाहूया:
* 1996: पंतप्रधान एच. डी. देवेगौडा यांच्या काळात… pic.twitter.com/zq2mBbzD4c
— BJP Mumbai (@BJP4Mumbai) April 17, 2026
BJP Mumbai chief and legislator Ameet Satam said the Congress leadership was uncomfortable with wider participation of women in decision-making, a day after a bill to implement 33 per cent women’s reservation in legislatures in 2029 was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
“The Gandhi family, which benefited from key constitutional posts for so many years, cannot accept other women getting empowered. Their discomfort was visible when women from humble backgrounds started participating in decision-making processes,” he said on X.
स्वतःच्या कौटुंबिक पार्श्वभूमीचा फायदा घेऊन संसदेच्या खुर्चीवर बसणाऱ्या गांधी घराण्यातील महिलांना आता सामान्य महिलांचे सक्षमीकरण सहन होत नाहीये. सामान्य महिला जेव्हा निर्णय प्रक्रियेत सामील व्हायला निघाल्या आहेत, तेव्हा या लोकांची अस्वस्थता स्पष्टपणे दिसून येत आहे.… pic.twitter.com/QTPXdgQ0fD
— Ameet Satam (@AmeetSatam) April 18, 2026
BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Manisha Chaudhary led a protest in Dahisar, where party workers raised slogans against the Congress and other opposition leaders.
Women protesters also blackened flex banners carrying photographs of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
BJP claims Congress delayed women’s reservation bill for decades
In a statement, the BJP’s city unit accused the Congress of turning the women’s reservation bill into a “political pawn” for 27 years, alleging repeated delays, obstruction and lack of political will despite being in power for long periods.
It claimed that even now, by opposing the delimitation exercise linked to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the Congress was effectively ensuring that women’s reservation would not be implemented before the 2029 general elections.
“This is not a coincidence but a pattern,” the party said, claiming what it described as a timeline of delays and obstacles.
The BJP alleged that in 1996, when the bill was introduced during the United Front government led by H D Deve Gowda, the Congress pushed for it to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, delaying the process at a crucial stage, and later withdrew support to the government, leading to its fall and the lapse of the bill.
During the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2004, the BJP claimed repeated attempts were made to pass the bill, including introducing it twice in 2003, but disruptions by MPs from parties such as the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party stalled proceedings, with copies of the bill allegedly torn in Parliament.
Despite being a major national party, the Congress remained “inactive” and failed to build consensus or push the bill through, allowing such disruptions to succeed, it said.
The BJP further alleged that during the UPA regime from 2004 to 2014, despite including the women’s reservation bill in the Common Minimum Programme and making repeated promises, the Congress failed to ensure its passage in the Lok Sabha.
Although the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 with a two-thirds majority, the party did not take it forward in the Lok Sabha, allegedly due to opposition from key allies such as the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
“The priority was to keep the coalition government intact rather than ensure rightful representation for women,” the BJP claimed.
(With PTI inputs)
