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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary and former Union Minister Smriti Irani has issued a major challenge to Congress MP and Lok Sabha MLA Rahul Gandhi over his comments on women and patriarchy. Smriti Irani has challenged Rahul Gandhi to support the immediate implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies and to have the full version of Vande Mataram sung at the Congress headquarters.
Former Union Minister Smriti Irani’s comments came on Sunday (August 23), a day after Lok Sabha MLA Rahul Gandhi called for an end to patriarchy at the Chhatron Ki Gunj event in Pune on Saturday (August 22, 2026).

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani said

Smriti Irani said, “Rahul Gandhi should convert his support for women’s rights into action and support the early implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act.” “As a prominent leader of the Congress party has spoken out in support of women and women leadership, I humbly request him to come forward and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to implement the law giving 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament as soon as possible,” he said.

What did Irani say about singing the national anthem Vande Mataram?

Irani challenged the Congress that since he had mentioned religion, I requested the prominent Congress leader that some verses of the national anthem Vande Mataram, which mentions Goddess Durga, should be banned from being sung at the Congress headquarters.
Mentioning the worship of Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga, he said that women are respected in Hindu traditions. The BJP leader said, “We worship Goddess Durga as the personification of Shakti. I request that Vande Mataram be sung in the Congress headquarters with full verses, including verses invoking Goddess Durga.”