'Mask of Nari Vandan Has Come Off': Gandhi Hits Back at BJP Over Remarks on Geniben Thakor
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (May 2) hit out at Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party chief Jagdish Vishwakarma over his remarks targeting Congress MP Geniben Thakor, calling them “anti-women”.
The row follows comments by Vishwakarma at a political gathering in Banaskantha, where he took aim at Thakor and Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani. He said that BJP had taken control of the district panchayat after 30 years from the “pallu” of Thakor’s sari.
Gandhi said the remarks exposed the BJP’s “anti-women mindset” and were an insult to women’s dignity. “The BJP President of Gujarat has made an indecent remark about our woman MP, Geniben Thakor ji. The mask of ‘Nari Vandan’ has come off. This is not just embarrassing; it reflects BJP’s anti-women mindset,” he said in a social media post.
गुजरात के भाजपा अध्यक्ष ने कांग्रेस की हमारी महिला सांसद गेनीबेन ठाकोर जी पर अभद्र टिप्पणी की है।
“नारी वंदन” का मुखौटा उतर गया।
यह सिर्फ़ शर्मनाक नहीं - यह BJP की मनुवादी, महिला-विरोधी विचारधारा का असली चेहरा है।
ये है BJP का “नारी वंदन”?
ये करेंगे महिलाओं का सशक्तिकरण?
ये…— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 2, 2026
He added that electoral victory did not give leaders the licence to demean opponents and called on the BJP leadership to act. He also alleged that women who challenge those in power are often targeted, saying such remarks expose a “distorted mentality.”
Gandhi’s reference to “Nari Vandan” comes in the backdrop of a recent parliamentary confrontation over women’s reservation. The Union government had introduced a constitutional amendment Bill in 2026 which had sought to increase the seats in Lok Sabha to 850, but it was defeated in parliament. Opposition parties, including the Congress, argued at the time that linking women’s reservation to delimitation would allow a redrawing of constituencies ahead of the 2029 elections that would give advantage to the ruling party
The women’s reservation law, formally known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and passed in 2023, provides for 33% reservation for women in parliament and state assemblies, but its implementation remains tied to delimitation and a fresh census.
Thakor condemned the comments as inappropriate and disrespectful, saying they ran counter to democratic values.
Vishwakarma denied making a personal remark, saying his comments were political and had been taken out of context, according to reports.
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