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Shashi Tharoor rejects Kiren Rijiju's claim on ‘agreeing’ to Congress being anti-women: ‘7 witnesses can confirm’
Shashi Tharoor rejected Kiren Rijiju's claims, clarifying that at no point did he say or imply that he agreed to Congress being anti-women.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has rejected union minister Kiren Rijiju's claim that he “agreed” to his party being anti-women. In an interview earlier, Rijiju had said that in a conversation after the Parliament session ended recently, Tharoor “in a way” accepted that Congress was anti-women.
“Shashi Tharoor said that Congress may be anti-women, but no woman would consider Shashi Tharoor anti-women,” Rijiju said in an ANI interview, a clip of which was widely shared online.
In the interview, Rijiju said that Tharoor told him Congress “may be anti-women” but he himself wasn't perceived like that. When asked if Tharoor accepted that Congress anti-women, Rijiju replied: ‘That is what he meant…in a way he accepted that Congress is anti-women, and I also accepted that he isn’t anti-women but his party is."
However, Tharoor clearly rejected Rijiju's claims clarifying that at no point was any such thing said or implied by him.
Tharoor's pointed rebuttal of Rijiju's remarks
Rejecting Kiren Rijiju's claims on Tuesday, Shashi Tharoor also said that there were seven people in a photograph from the after the Parliament session who could attest that the Congress MP said no such thing.
"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," he further wrote.
Tharoor was referring to a selfie he posted on April 18, featuring himself, Kiren Rijiju, and several other MPs when they met at post-adjournment gathering.
Tharoor backs Congress on supporting women
In his rebuttal of Kiren Rijiju's remarks, Shashi Tharoor also came out in support of his party Congress and heaped praise on how it stood for women's rights and women's reservation under Sonia Gandhi's presidentship.
Days after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to amend the women’s quota law failed the pass the Lok Sabha, Tharoor said that he backed the reservation for women but without linking to delimitation.
Also Read: Bill not passed in Parliament is a loss for women, not govt failure: Kiren Rijiju
He even credited the Congress for initiating the bill, passing it in the Rajya Sabha when in power and supporting it when it was introduced in Lok Sabha in 2023. “We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation,” Tharoor said.
