ITANAGAR, 23 Apr: The state BJP on Thursday organised a massive ‘Jan aakrosh mahila padyatra’ in support of the 33% women’s reservation bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2026).
The party strongly condemned the Congress-led INDI alliance for blocking the “historic legislation.”
The BJP said that the government failed to pass the bill in the recent Parliament session due to the deliberate opposition of the Congress-led alliance, which denied it the required two-thirds majority. The BJP termed this a direct betrayal of India’s women.
The padyatra began from the tennis court premises and culminated at the Mopin Solung ground in Zero Point, with participation of thousands of women,including from SHGs and NGOs, the BJP said a release.
This was followed by a mahila sammelan, during which Nabam Yahi Tad of the BJP state Mahila Morcha stated that “the Congress party has once again exposed its anti-women mindset by blocking a bill that could have empowered countless women to become decision-makers.”
She said that “the anger seen on the streets reflects the growing frustration of women across the nation,” according to the release.
State BJP general secretary Junty Singpho also launched a scathing attack on the Congress, stating that the women’s reservation bill is a visionary initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at ensuring real empowerment, not tokenism.
Singpho emphasised that delimitation is a constitutional and time-intensive process involving consultations and legal procedures.
“The Congress is well aware of this reality, and it is a time-taking procedure, not an overnight process; yet it is spreading confusion only to stall women’s progress,” she said.
IMC Mayor Likha Nari Tadar also strongly condemned the Congress party, accusing it of spreading misinformation and engaging in divisive and dynastic politics. She alleged that the Congress seeks to limit leadership opportunities to a privileged few while ignoring the aspirations of common Indian women. She also criticised the Congress party, saying that “the Congress only wants to see Madam Sonia Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in power in the Indian Parliament.”
A representative from an NDA alliance partner and a women’s wing leader of the PPA, Tendy Lomo, also addressed the gathering, appealing for immediate re-tabling of the bill and urging all parties to support it in the interest of empowering nari shakti, the release said.
Dasanglu Pul, the lone woman Cabinet minister in the BJP-led state government, also addressed the gathering.
State BJP president Kaling Moyong in his addresssaid that the march and the massive gathering reflected “the deep resentment and sentiment of women against the Congress and its alliance partners for opposing the bill.”
He appreciated the demand raised by senior Congress leader and former minister and MP Takam Sanjoy for increasing representation of the state, including five Lok Sabha seats, two Rajya Sabha seats, and 90 MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh.
“However, on the other side, the Congress is against the bill,” he said, and criticised the party for “simultaneously spreading misinformation and opposing a bill” aimed at empowering women and increasing seats in the state, terming it highly unfortunate.
He further stated that women constitute nearly half of India’s population and are deeply disappointed by the failure to pass the bill, while accusing the Congress and its allies of celebrating its defeat.
Moyong said that “such an attitude reflects their disconnection from the aspirations and emotions of Indian women.” He also denied the Congress party’s allegation regarding the minimum number of seats in non-BJP ruled states as totally baseless and misleading, the BJP said in its release.
“Voices of India’s women cannot be silenced, and those who stand against their empowerment will be held accountable,” he said.
