Congress condemns Smriti Irani's 'silence' on women's issues, asks for 10-year report card

The Congress on Thursday accused Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani of maintaining a silence on key issues related to women, and said she should put forward her ministry's 10-year report card before people.

Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba said AICC general-secretary Jairam Ramesh had recently posed several questions to Irani, but the minister did not give detailed answers to any of those.

"We had expected that the country's women and child development minister, Smriti Irani, would hold a press conference and present the report card of her department. She kept avoiding this, but now we are determined to hold her accountable," Lamba told a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.

"It is expected that she would hold a press conference and not give answers on Twitter," she said, and repeated the questions asked by Ramesh.

"Has there been an increase in crimes against women and children in the country? Why was (former Wrestling Federation of India chief) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh not arrested after an FIR was lodged against him? Six months have passed since the gang-rape of tribal daughters of Manipur, which fast-track court has heard the case and have the accused been punished? In Haryana, does Sandeep Singh remain a minister even after serious allegations of sexual harassment and an FIR against him?" she asked.

The Mahila Congress chief also asked Irani why she remained silent when the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were released by the BJP-led government.

Lamba alleged the involvement of the BJP IT cell members in a case of gang rape of a Banaras Hindu University (BHU) student and wondered when the survivor would get justice.

"A four-year-old girl has been raped in the country's capital, Delhi. Did Smriti Irani ji, the National Commission for Women chairperson, the president of (the BJP's) Mahila Morcha go to meet the victim's family?" Lamba asked. "Smriti Irani ji, we challenge you — place the data before the country of those anganwadi workers to whom you gave the Covid-cover insurance," she said.

"The Ministry of Women and Child Development had replied in Parliament that there was no data on the deaths of anganwadi workers who died during Covid-19. This case also reeks of corruption," Lamba alleged.

The Congress leader also accused Irani of maintaining a silence on the issue of unemployment and reduction in income among women. "We hope Smriti Irani will hold a press conference and present the 10-year report card of her department in front of the country and not keep playing Twitter-Twitter," she said.