Overview
- Kiren Rijiju, in an ANI interview Tuesday, said Shashi Tharoor told him Congress “may be anti‑women,” which he framed as Tharoor accepting the charge.
- Hours after the Tuesday interview clip circulated, Tharoor publicly rejected that account and said seven people in an April 18 post‑adjournment photo can confirm he never said or implied it.
- The exchange traces back to the April 16–18 special sitting when the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed in the Lok Sabha with 298 votes in favour and 230 against, short of the two‑thirds needed.
- The bill sought 33% reservation for women and tied it to a delimitation exercise that would raise Lok Sabha seats from 543 to up to 816 based on the 2011 Census, which opponents said could skew representation.
- Congress says it backs women’s reservation without any delimitation link, while BJP leaders are casting the opposition’s vote as anti‑women to rally female voters before future contests.