BJP women leaders call out Opposition over women’s bill defeat

Lucknow: The BJP on Tuesday projected its women leaders at the forefront of a campaign against Opposition parties after an amendment to the Women’s Reservation Act was defeated in Parliament.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath led a padyatra in Lucknow, joined by women members of his Cabinet and senior party leaders, who accused the Samajwadi Party and Congress of adopting an “anti-women” stand on the issue.UP’s secondary education minister Gulab Devi launched a sharp attack on the Opposition, saying its thinking was regressive and urging women to recognise what she described as the true mindset of SP and Congress.She said women across the country were angry over the amendment being defeated and called for that anger to be reflected politically from panchayats to the Assembly and Parliament. She appealed to women to continue their struggle and help bring BJP govt to power in 2027 and 2029.Women’s welfare minister and former governor Baby Rani Maurya said Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and SP MP Dimple Yadav were present in Parliament when the amendment was defeated.She alleged that women MPs from Opposition parties celebrated the development by thumping desks and said that if they were genuinely committed to women’s rights, they would have expressed disappointment instead.Maurya urged women to respond strongly to what she termed an insult.Former BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi also criticised the Opposition, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the bill for women’s empowerment but rival parties blocked it because of an anti-women mindset. She called on women to unite and show their political strength against the Opposition.