Mumbai: Traffic chaos during the BJP’s demonstration over the women’s reservation bill in Mumbai’s Worli area prompted an irate woman to confront Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, blaming him for the snarls.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, April 21, when Mahajan was addressing reporters at the rally, organised to target Opposition parties over the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill, which aimed to fast-track the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies, in the Lok Sabha.
The episode, captured on video, quickly gained traction online, amplifying criticism of the BJP’s protest tactics.
The agitated woman confronted the minister, shouting at him for blocking roads and causing inconvenience to commuters.
“Get out of here. You are causing a traffic jam,” she said, asking why the rally could not be held at a nearby open ground instead of disrupting vehicular movement.
As Mahajan attempted to pacify her, the woman returned and continued her tirade, saying, “Did you not understand? What is wrong with you? There are hundreds of people waiting.”
When a police official intervened, she snapped back, refusing to engage and demanding that no one speak to her.
After a video of the episode surfaced on social media, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal shared the clip, alleging that the ruling party’s campaign on women’s reservation exposed its “real face”.
He accused the BJP of misleading women for political gains and using the issue as a tool to push a “false narrative”.
Sapkal further claimed the Opposition alliance had already thwarted “the BJP’s attempt to alter Constitutional and electoral processes under the guise of reservation”, alleging that the saffron party was now resorting to rallies and propaganda to revive the issue.
Former state Congress chief Nana Patole also posted the video, saying ordinary citizens were being harassed due to the BJP’s “drama”.
He said the woman’s outburst reflected growing public frustration, asserting that women across the country would similarly reject the BJP in the future.
The BJP has been protesting against the Congress and other Opposition parties over the failure to pass the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which would have provided 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and legislative assemblies.
The Constitution Amendment Bill, implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, was defeated in the Lower House of Parliament on April 17. During the division of votes on the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill, 2026, 298 votes were cast in favour and 230 against it.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass any Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition parties have alleged that the bill, linked to a delimitation exercise, if implemented, would have shrunk the representation of the southern states.
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