Joined by BJP MP Hema Malini, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta led a women’s protest march to the residence of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and burnt his effigy on Saturday for failing the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' in Lok Sabha a day earlier.
Hundreds of protesters holding placards and banners which accused the Congress of insulting Nari Shakti marched from Motilal Nehru Marg to Rahul Gandhi’s home on Sunehri Bagh Road. They shouted slogans against the Congress for failing the women who were eagerly awaiting the 33 per cent reservation.
Some of the women protesters sported black bands on their foreheads to register their anger. Mathura MP Hema Malini described it as a sad day for all women of the country. “The Opposition foiled all efforts to pass the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. It seems the Opposition does not trust Nari Shakti,” she said.
She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried his best to give the women their due. “For the past so many years, the PM has been working tirelessly to provide new facilities and powers to women. He wants the women to join the decision-making process, but the Opposition does not want this to happen,” she said.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also hit out at the Opposition for repeatedly blocking the women's reservation bill in Parliament. Their mindset reveals their true intentions towards women's empowerment. The women of the country are watching everything and understanding it. This injustice done to Nari Shakti will not go unanswered, she said.
The protest was joined by Minister of State Raksha Khadse, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, MPs Manoj Tiwari, Ramveer Singh Bidhuri, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Bansuri Swaraj, Manju Sharma (Jaipur), Dharmsila Gupta (Bihar), Luxmi Verma (Chhattisgarh), MLA Shikha Rai, councillor Yogita Singh, Vice President Lata Gupta and Mahila Morcha President Richa Pandey.
Earlier, Chief Minister Gupta took to X to criticise the Opposition for defeating the amendment bill on women’s quota. “What happened in the Lok Sabha today is painful and disheartening for every woman who holds hope for her rights and dignity.
The resolve taken by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri@narendramodi ji to empower Nari Shakti, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was a historic and transformative step in that direction. But the opposition's refusal to allow this important constitutional amendment to pass is a direct injustice to women's rights,” she said on Friday.
“As a woman Chief Minister, this issue is not just political for me, but one of empathy and respect. The opportunity to give crores of women in the country participation in the decision-making process has been snatched away from them today,” she said.
This is not the first time that Congress and its allies have obstructed the path to women's rights. Their mindset reveals their true intentions towards women's empowerment, she stated. The Delhi government will continue to work with full commitment to women's empowerment and women-led development under the leadership of the Prime Minister, CM Rekha Gupta added.