‘Get out of here’: Irate woman confronts BJP minister at Mumbai rally over quota bill

A woman on the way to pick up her child singlehandedly took on a BJP minister and workers blocking a busy road in Mumbai’s Worli area on Tuesday (April 21) and the videos shared by Congress leaders and others quickly went viral on social media. Ironically, the BJP workers were protesting against the failure of the implementation of women’s reservation in Parliament.

Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad was quick to criticise the BJP for inconveniencing the public, citing the woman’s confrontation with state BJP minister Girish Mahajan. Even the police failed to pacify her.

“A woman on her way to pick up her child had to wait for hours due to the road being blocked for a BJP programme held in the name of women’s reservation,” Gaikwad said in a post on X on Tuesday evening.

‘Real women’s power’

An ordinary woman in Mumbai confronted BJP ministers and workers and asked them to leave, she noted, calling it an example of “real women’s power”.

People are no longer convinced by the BJP’s “empty rhetoric”, claimed Gaikwad, who is the Mumbai Congress president.

Those who cannot solve public issues only create traffic jams, she charged, adding that the woman’s reaction reflected the anger of the people of Mumbai.

A mother’s frustration

The angry woman confronted Mahajan directly, blaming him for the snarls. She shouted 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 a nearby open ground instead of disrupting vehicular movement.

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She also lashed out angrily at a policeman who asked her what the problem was. “Why have I been held over here for more than an hour?” she shouted at them in frustration. Later, she was seen arguing heatedly with the police who kept telling her to “lower her volume”.

The episode, captured on video, quickly gained traction online, amplifying criticism of the BJP's protest tactics.

Congress latches on to topic

Targeting the ruling party over the episode, Gaikwad said, “This lady didn’t hold back! The common public now knows BJP’s eventbaazi! A lady on her way to pick up a child had to wait for hours as BJP blocked the road in the name of women’s reservation.”

She said the BJP’s “event politics” was testing the patience of Mumbaikars and accused the saffron party of blocking roads to promote what she described as a false narrative on women's reservation.

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“Is blocking roads and troubling common people to spread a false narrative on women's reservation your culture?” the MP from Mumbai North Central asked.

“Today, a common Mumbai woman told BJP ministers and workers to leave and showed them the reality. That is the true ‘women’s power’. Stop troubling Mumbai for publicity,” she said.

Irony of incident

Gaikwad further alleged the BJP was being “hypocritical”, claiming that while it speaks about respecting women, it inconveniences citizens for political programmes.

“On one hand you talk about respecting women, and on the other you block roads for your own political events. A brave woman has given a strong reply to such politics,” she added.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal also shared the clip, alleging that the ruling party’s campaign on women’s reservation exposed its “real face”.

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He accused the BJP of misleading women for political gains and using the issue as a tool to push a “false narrative”.

Public frustration

Sapkal further claimed that the Opposition alliance had already thwarted “the BJP's attempt to alter Constitutional and electoral processes under the guise of reservation”, alleging that the saffron party was now resorting to rallies and propaganda to revive the issue.

Former state Congress president Nana Patole also posted the video, saying ordinary citizens were being harassed due to the BJP’s “drama”.

He said the woman’s outburst reflected growing public frustration, asserting that women across the country would similarly reject the BJP in the future.

(With agency inputs)