New Delhi:Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday (April 28) launched a scathing attack on the Congress and called it "anti-women." During an interview with news agency ANI, Rijiju revealed his interaction with Shashi Tharoor after a recent Parliament session, claiming that the Congress MP also “admitted” that the grand old party is “anti-women.”

"After the Parliament session had ended, Tharoor told me in the (Parliament) hall that the Congress party may be anti-women, but no woman would consider Shashi Tharoor anti-women. So I said, yes, I agree that no one would call you anti-women, but your party is anti-women," the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister told the news agency.

Rijiju further stated that during their conversation, Tharoor “ in a way” admitted that his party is “anti-women." He meant that even if Congress may be anti-women, women would not consider Shashi Tharoor anti-women. So what does that mean? It means that, in a way, he also accepted that Congress is anti-women. And I also accepted that he may not personally be anti-women, but his party is anti-women," Rijiju said.

Notably, the Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak women reservation law and increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha for 2029 General Election was defeated after division of votes in the Lower House on Friday. The bill was defeated after 298 members voted in support while 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority. According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Rijiju SlamsINDIA BlocAs “Tukde Tukde Gang”:

The Union Minister also slammed the opposition’s INDIA Bloc. He described the parties of the INDIA Bloc as part of a "Tukde Tukde" gang. In an interview with ANI, Rijiju pointed to what he called a lack of coordination among alliance members, noting that opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and Mamata Banerjee frequently criticise one another.

He claimed that the alliance lacks a shared ideological foundation and was formed out of convenience rather than principles. According to Rijiju, the parties even failed to unite on key issues like women's reservation and instead focused on attacking each other.

"All those who have formed the INDI Alliance belong to 'Tukde-Tukde'. They are not in tandem with each other. They all came together to oppose women's reservation. Then Rahul Gandhi goes and abuses Arvind Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal abuses Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi abuses Mamata didi... They didn't come together on principles. They came together solely to loot and for convenience," said Rijiju.

On AAPRajya SabhaMP’s JoiningBJP:

Rijiju dismissed the opposition's allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the center pressured the MPs to join his party. He said all "good people" have left AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, as seven Rajya Sabha MPs switched to the BJP.

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