Case registered against organisers
Mumbai, April 22: A viral video of a woman berating Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan for the traffic jam caused by a BJP rally over the women’s reservation bill in south Mumbai put the ruling party on the backfoot on Wednesday, with the minister stating that her anger was justified though her language was inappropriate.
City Mayor Ritu Tawde, who belongs to the BJP, expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to commuters by Tuesday’s rally in Worli area as police registered a case against the organisers for alleged violation of norms.
As the video of the woman’s outburst went viral, opposition parties targeted the saffron party, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi lauding the woman — who had got stranded in traffic jam while waiting to pick up her child — for ‘showing mirror’ to the minister.
The incident occurred in the upscale Worli area on Tuesday when Mahajan was speaking to reporters at a rally organised by the saffron party to target opposition parties over the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill for fast-tracking the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
An agitated woman confronted the BJP 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 the nearby open ground. After Mahajan tried to pacify her, she 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 at him, refusing to engage and demanding that no one speak to her.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal shared the video on X, and accused the BJP of misleading women for political gains.
Sapkal also alleged on Wednesday that after facing embarrassment, BJP workers threatened the journalists who recorded the viral video. Mahajan admitted that some commuters did face inconvenience, and added that he had apologised to the woman on the spot and also asked the police not to take any harsh action against her. (PTI)
