Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after women journalists were barred from attending a Taliban press conference in the national capital. Taking to X, Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of staying silent in the face of discrimination and said such silence “exposes the emptiness” of his government’s slogans on Nari Shakti.
“You are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them,” He further wrote. “In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space,” he added, urging the government to take a clear stance on the issue.
Opposition questions government silence
The incident, which took place at the Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi after Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, drew widespread criticism from opposition leaders.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to X, urging the Prime Minister to clarify his position. “If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to another, then how has this insult been allowed?” she wrote.
Former home minister P. Chidambaram expressed “shock” over the exclusion of women journalists and said male journalists should have “walked out” in protest. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also targeted the government, calling the event “shameful” and accusing it of “dishonouring every single Indian woman” by allowing a “male-only” press conference.
BJP responds, cites diplomatic protocol
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected Rahul Gandhi’s criticism, calling his remarks “misleading.” Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said Gandhi was “spreading fake news” and “batting for Pakistan.” He cited the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, which states that embassy premises are “inviolable” and under the control of the host nation’s mission.
Amid the backlash, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified to ANI that India had “no involvement” in the Taliban press event. When questioned about women’s rights, Muttaqi said, “Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and there should be respect for them.”
The Taliban government has faced international criticism since 2021 for restricting women’s access to education, work, and public life — and this incident has reignited debate in India about whether diplomatic protocol can override core democratic and gender equality values
