Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that women belong to themselves and not to their fathers, husbands or sons, and termed as shameful the Manusmriti’s norm that a woman should remain under the authority of male relatives at every stage of her life.
A woman must never be independent. These words are a shame. “You belong to nobody, except yourself. Ban alleged that the Congress was trying to create an impression of a spontaneous public response to Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme by paying people to attend it and promote it on social media.
India’s biggest strength is the “70 crore unique journeys, unique imagination, unique dreams” of its women, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said, speaking at his party’s youth outreach programme ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’. “I (would) like to quote here the Manusmriti, which says clearly that in childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth she belongs to her husband and, when her lord is dead, she belongs to her sons. These words should not have been spoken,” Gandhi said. Women are the country’s biggest asset, he said, adding that they should stand for themselves and believe in themselves. You have a relationship with your father, brother, husband, your son, but you do not belong to them, and you belong to yourself,” Gandhi said. He had come to the city not to lecture or discuss politics, but to allow young people to express what they felt and discuss their ideas, he said at the programme held on the ground of a local college where young women were present in large numbers. “You are unique, you are special, you are individual, and you have your own dream and vision,” he said. Women were often confined to three identities, daughter, wife or mother, the Congress leader said, adding that while there was nothing wrong with these relationships, these could not be their only identity. Earlier reporting noted: ‘Paise Ki Goonj’: BJP claims Congress paid influencers to draw crowds for Rahul Gandhi’s Pune event The BJP on Saturday (August 22, 2026) dubbed Rahul Gandhi’s student event in Pune as “Paise Ki Goonj”, alleging that the Congress had paid social media influencers to mobilise crowds, triggering a fiery response from the Opposition, which claimed the saffron party feared the growing Gen-Z support. Earlier reporting noted: While BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Congress had spent nearly ₹10 crore to buy attendance by paying up to ₹35,000 per influencer for the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” programme, Opposition leader Sachin Sawant retorted that BJP leaders were terrified of Gandhi’s growing influence among youngsters.
Earlier reporting noted: Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s Maharashtra headquarters in Mumbai, Mr.
