New Delhi, August 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Smriti Irani on Saturday urged Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to support the early implementation of the 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, while also calling for the full rendition of the national song Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters.
Irani was speaking to reporters after attending the second day of a meeting of the BJP’s newly appointed national office-bearers, state in-charges and state presidents chaired by party president Nitin Nabin.
Her remarks came a day after Gandhi, speaking at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Pune, described women as the country’s “greatest strength” and called on young women to break free from patriarchal structures. He also criticised what he termed the “Manusmriti mindset” of keeping women dependent.
Referring to Gandhi’s remarks, Irani said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced and secured the passage of legislation providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
She said Modi had also appealed to political parties to support its early implementation and urged Gandhi to back the initiative if he genuinely supported women’s leadership.
Irani also linked Gandhi’s remarks on religion to the ongoing controversy over the rendition of Vande Mataram at Congress programmes.
She said Hindus worship deities including Bhagavathi, Lakshmi and Saraswati and pointed out that the verses omitted from the rendition at the Congress headquarters contain a reference to Maa Durga, whom she described as a symbol of divine power or ‘Shakti’.
“I am making another request to that prominent leader. In Vande Mataram, the verses that were stopped at the Congress headquarters contain the mention of Maa Durga,” Irani said, calling for the complete song to be rendered at the Congress headquarters.
The BJP leader said taking both steps would help Gandhi give practical shape to his stated support for women and women’s leadership.
A controversy had erupted following the rendition of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day and the Congress Working Committee’s decision to retain the practice of singing only the first two stanzas of the national song at party programmes.
Questioning the Congress position, Irani said a political party’s decision could not take precedence over Parliament or the national interest.
“A political party cannot be greater than the nation’s Parliament. A statement by a political party is not greater than the nation’s Parliament,” she said.
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