Jammu, Oct 10: Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday held a protest demonstration outside the Congress office in Jammu, accusing the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his other party colleagues of resorting to double standards.
Led by J&K BJP vice presidents Priya Sethi (former minister) and Rekha Mahajan; general secretary Sanjita Dogra; Mahila Morcha president Neha Mahajan and other senior leaders, the protesters declared that India would not tolerate the insult or humiliation of women.
J&K BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Sharma was prominent among those present.
J&K BJP general secretaries Baldev Singh Billawaria and Gopal Mahajan, MLAs Dr Narinder Singh, CP Ganga, Dr Devinder Manyal, Vikram Randhawa, Prof Gharu Ram, Yudhvir Sethi, Arvind Gupta, Surinder Bhagat and Rajiv Bhagat, state office bearers, Morcha Presidents and other senior leaders were also present.
Raising slogans against Congress, the demonstrators criticised the Congress leadership for, what they alleged, “practising double standards on women’s dignity while using slogans such as “smashing the patriarchy” to mislead the public.” The protesters demanded Rahul Gandhi’s resignation, holding him accountable for the conduct and politics of his party.
Sat Sharma, addressing the demonstrators, said that Rahul Gandhi should resign, take responsibility for the conduct of his party and stop preaching about women’s empowerment while serious questions were being raised about the behaviour of Congress leaders towards women. He asserted that the dignity of women could not be compromised for political convenience and that those who lectured the nation on women’s rights must first demonstrate consistency through their own conduct.
Sat Sharma criticised Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership alleging that their public claims of standing for women’s rights contradicted the conduct attributed to Congress leaders. He said that allegations of misbehaviour towards female police personnel by Congress leaders and workers demanded serious accountability. He further accused Congress of pursuing a political agenda targetting national security agencies and undermining public confidence in constitutional institutions.
Questioning Congress’s silence over serious allegations against one of its MPs in a molestation case, Sat Sharma asked why Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders had not shown the same vocal concern for women’s dignity in that matter. He stressed that women’s respect was not a political slogan but a fundamental social responsibility and Rahul Gandhi must answer for his party’s double standards and resign rather than evade accountability.
Priya Sethi said that women’s dignity must remain above partisan politics and that Congress must answer for the contradiction between its public messaging and the conduct it is accused of defending.
Rekha Mahajan said that women deserved respect, security and equal dignity in every sphere of life, adding that political slogans could not substitute for accountability.
Sanjita Dogra said that women expected sincerity and consistency from political leaders, not selective outrage on issues concerning their rights.
Neha Mahajan said that BJP’s women workers would continue to raise their voices against every instance of disrespect towards women and demand accountability from those holding public office.
