New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi on Tuesday criticised Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over their “silence” on claims by a pregnant journalist that she was pushed by Rahul Gandhi during INDIA bloc’s protest at the Supreme Court premises.
A journalist, three months pregnant, has alleged that Rahul Gandhi aggressively pulled her hand and pushed her during the INDIA bloc’s protest on Monday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The protest took place on the Supreme Court premises.
Richa Parashar, a journalist with the news website Oneindia, has alleged that she was assaulted during the incident. She has been admitted to a hospital in the national capital.
Speaking to IANS, Annapurna Devi said, “The visuals emerging are very shocking. The Leader of the Opposition is behaving in such an insensitive manner. I would like to ask his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, where has her slogan ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ gone? Does she not advise her brother on how to behave with women?”
“The way he misbehaved with Delhi Police personnel earlier, and what we saw yesterday at the Supreme Court premises — is this the conduct expected of a Leader of the Opposition? This is certainly insensitive,” she added.
Emphasising that the journalist had reportedly been present at the site to carry out her professional duties, the Union Minister questioned why she was subjected to such treatment while attempting to obtain a response from the Congress leader.
“She was just there to take an interview, or a byte. Even then, she was treated in such a way,” Annapurna Devi said.
Questioning Rahul Gandhi’s conduct further, she asked, “Is Rahul Gandhi so much engulfed in his ego that he forgets how to behave with people, especially women?”
The Congress, however, has denied that any such incident took place and has described the allegations as propaganda “manufactured” by the BJP.
Congress leader Alka Lamba rejected the journalist’s claims in a post on X, pointing to what she described as inconsistencies in the sequence of events and calling the BJP “shameless”.
Annapurna Devi also criticised the Gandhi siblings over their “silence” on separate sexual harassment allegations levelled by 11 students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) against Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who was sacked by the university after the controversy erupted.
The Union Minister questioned why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had not publicly addressed the allegations.
“Even when sexual harassment allegations surfaced against their party’s MP in JNU, they are silent. Those who say ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’, can’t they see that the girls are now fighting and they should support it? The Gandhi siblings have sealed their lips,” she said.
Devi also declared that Rahul Gandhi was “unfit to be the Leader of the Opposition”, arguing that the position demanded a high standard of conduct and responsibility.
“Everyone knows how a Leader of the Opposition must conduct themselves. We have seen Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sushma Swaraj; people learn from them. However, he is unwilling to learn anything. We feel ashamed of how he conducts himself,” she said.
Criticising the Congress for alleging that the controversy had been orchestrated by the BJP, Devi said allegations of sexual harassment involving women should not be dismissed lightly.
“Whenever a daughter speaks out, being a woman and a mother, we know that one should think a hundred times before making such allegations. No daughter would lie about such a thing. Now, they (Gandhi siblings) are silent, and the Congress is saying that someone incited the students. They are just focused on creating anarchy,” she added.
The Union Minister further said that BJP women MPs would meet President Droupadi Murmu to raise the sexual harassment allegations against the Congress MP. She indicated that the party intended to bring the matter to the President’s attention.
–IANS
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