NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday refuted the claim by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in which the BJP leader recalled a previous conversation, saying that Tharoor had agreed that his party is “anti-women.”
The MP from Keralam in a post on his X platform strongly denied the interpretation attributed to him and said his comments were being misrepresented. “I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing - and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that,” he said.
Rejecting the Union Minister’s claim, he further added, “ ‘That was what he meant’, our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. ‘That Congress can be anti-women... he agreed in a way,’ he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way.” Tharoor also reiterated the Congress party’s stance on women’s reservation, citing its legislative record. “@INCIndia has stood for women’s rights and women’s reservation under a strong woman President in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women’s Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by GoI in 2023,” he said.
He further asserted, “We are totally in favour of women’s reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now — without linking it to delimitation.” The clarification comes after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had stated that Tharoor had allegedly agreed in principle that the Congress could be seen as “anti-women” in the debate over the Women’s Reservation Bill not being passed in Parliament. (ANI)
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