Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday compared Opposition parties, including the Congress, to the Kauravas of the Mahabharata, asserting that women’s anger over the defeat of the women’s reservation bill would destroy their political future.
Speaking at the BJP’s Jan Akrosh Women’s Rally in Bhubaneswar, Majhi also referred to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the Congress would meet the same fate as Sishupal, who was killed by Krishna in the epic after his 100th offence. Leaders and workers at the rally, including the Chief Minister, wore black as a mark of protest against what the BJP termed the Opposition’s betrayal of women.
The BJP held the rally after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17. The bill proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies starting from the 2029 parliamentary elections. The Congress and other Opposition parties that did not back the bill accused the BJP of circulating misleading claims on women’s reservation. They said the BJP was not serious about enforcing the 33 per cent quota.
“Opposition parties, including the Congress, will meet the fate of the Kauravas who lost everything due to Droupadi’s curse,” Majhi told the gathering. “The Kauravas dishonoured a woman, and the Opposition has done the same by defeating the Women’s Reservation Bill.”
Intensifying his criticism, Majhi said the anger of women would travel from villages to cities and break the Opposition’s political prospects. He described the bill’s defeat as “the feticide of mothers’ dreams” and accused the Congress and its allies of denying women their constitutional rights. The Chief Minister said women still reposed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and listed several empowerment schemes rolled out under his leadership. “This may be a temporary loss for women, but the PM is determined to deliver justice to them,” he said.
He charged Opposition parties with a narrow political mindset for voting against the bill. Majhi further alleged that the Congress and its allies were treating women as a vote bank, while the Modi government was focused on their empowerment. He cited ‘Operation Sindoor’, saying it was undertaken against terrorists to respond to women’s anger. “Anyone who questions the honour of Indian women will be punished,” he added.
Condemning Kharge’s alleged remarks against the Prime Minister, Majhi said the Opposition had already committed 99 sins by insulting a popular PM. “People will teach them a lesson when they commit the 100th abuse. The Congress will face the same outcome as Sishupal in the Mahabharat,” he said. According to the epic, Krishna pardoned Sishupal 99 times and killed him after the 100th insult.
Majhi asked women to keep their anger alive and raise their voice at the right moment. He said the bill’s passage would have altered the country’s history but was blocked by the Congress and others. State BJP president Manmohan Samal said mounting protests across the country would eventually compel Opposition parties to support the women’s reservation bill.
