'She has no right to speak on Congress', Maha LoP Wadettiwar takes a dig at Smriti Irani

Maharashtra's Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday targeted Union Minister Smriti Irani's recent statement, in which she claimed that the Gandhi family is solely interested in empowering women within their own family

Maharashtra's Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday targeted Union Minister Smriti Irani's recent statement, in which she claimed that the Gandhi family is solely interested in empowering women within their own family. Wadettiwar said that those who enter other people's homes and accumulate the wealth of the wealthy have no right to comment on the poor or the Congress party.

"What does she (Smriti Irani) know? The woman who enters other people's houses and owns the property of the rich has no right to speak on the poor; she has no right to speak on Congress," he asserted while speaking to ANI.

Furthermore, Wadettiwar emphasized the Congress party's historical commitment to uplifting the impoverished, asserting that this is widely recognized both in India and around the world. He accused the BJP of prioritizing the interests of businessmen while deflecting attention from their own wrongdoings by criticizing the Congress.

Earlier on Tuesday, Smriti Irani had questioned the absence of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi from the Lok Sabha when the historic Women's Reservation Bill was being presented. Irani alleged that the Gandhi family was exclusively focused on empowering women within their own ranks and not interested in empowering poor, Adivasi, or Dalit women.

"Gandhi Family is only interested in empowering the women in their family. They are not interested in empowering the poor, Adivasi, or Dalit women," Irani had stated.

Also read: Congress committed to women's reservation, need to address potential shortcomings in the proposed legislation: Kharge

In response to the impending presentation of the women's reservation bill in Parliament, Sonia Gandhi, the Congress' parliamentary party chief, had asserted, "The women's reservation bill 'is ours.'"

The Congress had expressed its welcome for the bill on Monday, highlighting that the party has long advocated for women's reservation in both Parliament and state assemblies.

Meanwhile, amidst the growing speculation regarding the Women's Reservation Bill, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has spoken out on the need to prioritize and implement the long-pending legislation.

Speaking to ANI, Kharge reminisced about past efforts, stating, "In 2010, we had passed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. But it failed to be passed by the Lok Sabha. That is why, this is not a new Bill. Had they taken that Bill forward, it would have been done quickly by this day."

Kharge expressed skepticism about the timing and intentions behind recent discussions on the Women's Reservation Bill, suggesting that political motives might be at play. He remarked, "I feel that they are publicizing this in view of elections, but actually unless the delimitation or census takes place... you can feel how long it is going to take. They could have continued with the earlier one, but their intentions are something else." (With inputs from ANI)

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