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New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday supported Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s criticism of the Center over Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki’s press conference in Delhi, where women journalists were not allowed to attend.
Muttaqi, a senior leader of the Taliban government, is known for overseeing policies that severely restrict women’s rights in Afghanistan, including restrictions on employment and education.
India has maintained a cautious approach towards engaging with the Taliban due to its human rights record and concerns about Afghanistan becoming a haven for terrorist groups.
Reposting Priyanka Gandhi’s ex-post, Rahul Gandhi said, ‘Mr Modi, when you allow women journalists to be ousted from the public platform, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.’
She said that women in India have the right to equality in every field and criticized the Centre’s silence on the press conference issue.
LoP Gandhi said, “In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every field. Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the hollowness of your slogans on women power.”
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Priyanka questioned how committed the central government is to women empowerment if such insults towards women journalists are allowed in India.
In a post on Twitter, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, please clarify your position on the removal of women journalists from the press conference of Taliban representative during his visit to India.”
He said, “If your beliefs about women’s rights are not a convenient stance from one election to the next, then how have you allowed the disrespect of some of the most capable women of India, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride, in our country.”
However, the Center denied any role in the “ban” on women journalists at Muttaqi’s press conference.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that invitations for the press event were sent by the Consul General of Afghanistan in Mumbai to selected Delhi-based journalists for the visit of the Afghan Minister. NDTV quoted the ministry as saying that the Afghan Embassy premises are outside the jurisdiction of the Indian government.
–IANS
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