‘Could've expressed anger in different manner’: BJP's Girish Mahajan after woman confronts him over traffic chaos

The confrontation took place in Worli during a rally linked to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, where the woman called out the disruption caused by the march.

A day after videos of a woman confronting Girish Mahajan over traffic chaos during a BJP protest in Mumbai went viral, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader responded to the incident, saying the woman could have "expressed her anger in a different manner".

Videos of the woman's furious reaction to the traffic snarls caused by the demonstration surfaced on social media on Tuesday (X/@yogi_9696)

Speaking over the chaos during a BJP rally, Mahajan said that the woman could have filed a complaint with the police, adding that he along with other BJP leaders maintained “calm and composed tone”.

The minister was reacting to the confrontation incident that took place in Worli during a rally linked to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam on Tuesday, where the woman angrily called out the disruption caused by the march, triggering political reactions and a wider debate over public inconvenience during protests.

Girish Mahajan's remarks

"During yesterday’s march, one woman came forward and spoke in an inappropriate manner. She could have filed a complaint with the police. She approached me while I was giving a byte. The police tried to counsel her. Women police personnel arrived. We maintained a calm and composed tone. She even threw a bottle."

"We told the police not to get provoked. We said let her say whatever she wants. We will be more careful in the future.

“Proper care will be taken during marches and protests. She could have expressed her anger in a different manner. We had taken proper permission for the march. The route was pre-decided. The planning was already in place,” he said.

What is happening?

A woman on Tuesday confronted Girish Mahajan, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in Mumbai over heavy traffic disruption caused by a protest march he was leading in the Worli area, linked to the women’s reservation push in Parliament.

The incident took place while Mahajan was speaking to reporters at a rally centred around the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, organised to target opposition parties following the defeat of a Constitution amendment bill aimed at fast-tracking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies in the Lok Sabha.

Videos of the confrontation surfaced on social media, showing the woman angrily objecting to the traffic snarls and asking the BJP MLA to leave the spot.

"Get out of here. You are causing a traffic jam," she said, questioning why the rally could not be held at a nearby open ground instead of disrupting traffic.

The clips quickly went viral, drawing mixed reactions online, including criticism of the BJP’s protest methods. In the videos, Mahajan is seen trying to pacify the woman, who continues her outburst, saying, "Did you not understand? What is wrong with you? There are hundreds of people waiting."

When a police official attempted to intervene, she refused to engage and insisted that no one speak to her.

Reaction to the chaos

Another video appeared to show long queues of vehicles stuck due to the protest.

Reacting to the incident, Harshwardhan Sapkal of the Indian National Congress shared the video, alleging that the ruling party’s campaign on women’s reservation had exposed its “real face”. He accused the BJP of misleading women for political gain and pushing a “false narrative”.

Sapkal also claimed that the opposition alliance had already blocked “the BJP's attempt to alter Constitutional and electoral processes under the guise of reservation”, and said the party was now turning to rallies and propaganda to revive the issue.

“As part of the nationwide tamasha that the BJP has started under the guise of women's reservation, the BJP had organized a protest march at Jambori Maidan in Worli against the opposition parties,” said Yogesh Sawant, vice president of the Maharashtra unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction), in a post on X.