Back women's quota law, sing full Vande Mataram: Smriti Irani dares Rahul Gandhi

BJP general secretary Smriti Irani on Sunday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to back the immediate implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and have the full version of Vande Mataram sung at the Congress headquarters.

Her remarks came a day after Gandhi asked girl students to “smash patriarchy” during his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ outreach programme in Pune.

Irani said Gandhi should translate his support for women’s rights into action by backing the implementation of the women’s reservation law.

“Since a key Congress leader has spoken in support of women and women’s leadership, I humbly request him to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to swiftly implement the bill granting 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament,” she told reporters.

Irani also challenged the Congress to organise a full rendition of Vande Mataram, including verses invoking Goddess Durga, at its headquarters.

“Since he has invoked religion, I have a request to that prominent leader of the Congress. The verses of Vande Mataram, some of which were halted at the Congress headquarters, contain a reference to Goddess Durga,” she said.

The BJP has previously criticised the Congress over the singing of only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party programmes.

Irani said Hindu traditions revered women and cited the worship of Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga.

“We worship Goddess Durga as the embodiment of ‘Shakti’ (divine power). I urge that the full rendition of Vande Mataram, including the verses invoking Goddess Durga, be performed at the Congress headquarters,” she said.

Gandhi, while interacting with girl students in Pune on Saturday, had criticised what he called the “Manusmriti mindset”, saying it sought to keep women under the authority of male relatives throughout their lives.

He also alleged that violence was used to prevent women from progressing and claimed that 80 per cent of women faced harassment.

Irani's remarks sought to turn Gandhi's comments on women's rights into a political challenge, asking him to back the implementation of women's reservation and the full rendition of Vande Mataram by his party.