Archive · 4 Sep 2026
BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Undermining Women’s Prospects
The Bharatiya Janata Party criticized Rahul Gandhi over a dispute involving a woman minister in Telangana.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said Gandhi talks about fighting patriarchy but stayed quiet during the dispute.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had removed Forest Minister Konda Surekha from the state cabinet.
Surekha said she was treated unfairly and accused the chief minister of blackmail politics.
Swaraj also said Congress-run Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka had not given women ministerial positions.
Gandhi had recently told girls in Pune that women should control their own lives.
He called rules placing women under male relatives unfair and urged them to challenge patriarchy.
The report presents the BJP’s criticism alongside Surekha’s allegations and Gandhi’s earlier comments.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused Rahul Gandhi and Congress governments of harming the prospects of progressive women.
Her remarks followed Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s dismissal of Forest Minister Konda Surekha.
Surekha said she had done nothing wrong and accused the chief minister of practicing “blackmail politics.”
Swaraj questioned Gandhi’s silence over Surekha’s allegations and described his call to “smash the patriarchy” as political rhetoric.
Gandhi had urged girls in Pune to challenge patriarchy and criticized the Manusmriti’s treatment of women.
- Who
- BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj criticized Rahul Gandhi and Congress governments; the dispute also involved Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and former Forest Minister Konda Surekha.
- What
- The Bharatiya Janata Party accused Rahul Gandhi and Congress governments of undermining the prospects of progressive women.
- When
- Swaraj made the remarks in New Delhi on September 4, after Surekha’s dismissal; Gandhi made the cited patriarchy remarks in Pune on August 22.
- Where
- The political criticism was made in New Delhi, while the ministerial dispute occurred in Telangana and Gandhi’s earlier event took place in Pune.
- Why
- Swaraj said Gandhi’s silence over Surekha’s allegations contradicted his public calls to challenge patriarchy.
BJP’s Criticism
Congress-Side Responses and Context
Gandhi’s patriarchy campaign
BJP’s Criticism
Bansuri Swaraj said Gandhi’s call to “smash the patriarchy” was empty political rhetoric because he had not addressed the Telangana dispute.
Congress-Side Responses and Context
Gandhi had told girls in Pune that women belong to themselves, not to their fathers, husbands or sons, and urged them to challenge patriarchal thinking.
Konda Surekha’s removal
BJP’s Criticism
Swaraj described Surekha’s removal from the Telangana Cabinet as the humiliation of a senior Congress woman leader and cited her allegations of injustice and blackmail.
Congress-Side Responses and Context
Surekha said she had done nothing wrong and accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of practicing blackmail politics.
Women in Congress governments
BJP’s Criticism
Swaraj alleged that Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, both governed by Congress, had not entrusted any woman with a ministerial post.
Congress-Side Responses and Context
The report does not include a response from Congress to this specific allegation.
- Speaker
- Bansuri Swaraj, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP
- Target of criticism
- Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition
- Telangana action
- Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy removed Forest Minister Konda Surekha from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect
- Surekha’s response
- She said she had done nothing wrong and accused the chief minister of blackmail politics
- BJP claim
- Swaraj alleged that Congress governments can undermine the prospects of progressive women
- Gandhi’s earlier remarks
- At a Pune event on August 22, Gandhi urged girls to “smash the patriarchy” and criticized the Manusmriti’s treatment of women
- States cited
- Swaraj said no woman had been given a ministerial post in Congress-governed Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka