Bhubaneswar, April 30 The members of Odisha Mahila Congress, the party's women's wing in the state, on Thursday staged a large protest near the Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar, against the alleged 'anti-women' stance of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led double-engine government and demanding immediate implementation of Women's Reservation Act, 2023, ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
The demonstration followed a public meeting where senior Congress leaders addressed party workers and outlined their stance on women's representation.
After the meeting, a large number of women Congress supporters attempted to march towards the state Assembly, raising slogans and pressing for their demands.
Police had erected barricades to prevent the protesters from advancing further.
As the situation escalated, protesters tried to breach the barricades, leading to a scuffle between the demonstrators and police personnel.
Several women protesters were later detained and taken into custody to maintain law and order, officials said.
Addressing the gathering, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Bhakta Charan Das said that a statewide agitation will be launched against the 'anti-women' stance of the BJP-led double-engine government.
He also added that women across the state will hold protests in the first week of May against the confusion being created by the ruling BJP over the issue of women's reservation by convening special sessions of both Parliament and the Assemblies.
Das announced that on the evening of May 3 and 4, torchlight processions will be organised by the Mahila Congress under the supervision of district Congress committees throughout the state. Similarly, such torchlight rallies will be held at the block level on May 7 and 8.
"The government must immediately implement the Women's Reservation Act, unanimously passed by Parliament in 2023, otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences," the Odisha PCC President warned.
Speaking at the event, AICC Odisha Co-Incharge J.T. Kusum Kumar said that in the Congress' 141-year history, women Presidents have led the organisation for more than 50 years, whereas in the BJP's 46-year history, not a single woman has been given the opportunity to lead the party.
He described the BJP's allegation that the Congress is 'anti-women' as laughable.
The party claimed that the demonstration by Mahila Congress on Thursday was organised to demand the immediate implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women candidates in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, a matter that was also discussed in the Odisha Assembly.
The Congress leaders at the event alleged that the BJP is indulging in theatrics over the issue of women's reservation and spreading misinformation by claiming that the former obstructed its implementation.
They questioned why the BJP government did not implement the Act during the 2024 general elections.
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