Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, condemned Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Jagdish Vishwakarma over remarks aimed at Banaskantha Congress MP Geniben Thakor. Gandhi called the comments evidence of an “anti-women and Manuwadi mindset”.
The row stems from Vishwakarma’s speech at a Banaskantha gathering on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The Gujarat BJP chief said the party had wrested control of the district panchayat after three decades from the “pallu” of Thakor’s sari.
The mask of Nari Vandana has slipped. The BJP cannot tolerate women who challenge the establishment, and their distorted mindset becomes evident in such instances.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha · Post on X · May 2, 2026
Gandhi also alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “fled Parliament”, citing what he said was the PM’s discomfort with questions from women MPs. He quoted Modi’s own line — “A woman may forget everything, but she never forgets her insult” — back at the ruling party.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the remarks “vulgar”, “extremely shameful” and “insulting”. She accused the BJP of shielding leaders who target women in public life.
Who is Geniben Thakor
Thakor is the lone Congress MP from Gujarat in the 18th Lok Sabha. She won Banaskantha in the 2024 general election, defeating BJP’s Rekhaben Chaudhari by 30,406 votes — Congress’s first Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat in a decade.
A two-term MLA from Vav, Thakor earned the “giant slayer” tag in 2017 after defeating BJP strongman Shankar Chaudhary. Her 2024 campaign was crowd-funded — she raised about ₹15 lakh in small donations, including a ₹2 contribution from a woman supporter.
ℹ️ Background
- The Banaskantha district panchayat was won by the BJP in local body polls in Gujarat that concluded in April 2026, ending Congress control.
- Vishwakarma took charge as Gujarat BJP president in October 2025, succeeding C.R. Paatil after the latter’s induction into the Union Cabinet in June 2024.
- Thakor’s Banaskantha win was Congress’s only Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat in 2024, though the party secured other Western India seats including 8 in Rajasthan.
The Gujarat BJP chief’s vulgar remarks are extremely shameful. The BJP government insults women with baseless allegations even in Parliament, while its leaders make vulgar remarks outside it.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary · Statement to media · May 2, 2026
The Gujarat BJP has not issued a formal clarification on Vishwakarma’s remark as of Saturday evening. The Congress is expected to raise the matter at its Gujarat Pradesh Committee meeting scheduled for May 5, 2026, weeks after local body polls in the state concluded in April 2026.
FAQ
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