Opposition slams Modi government for excluding women journalists from Afghan minister’s press conference

New Delhi : A major political controversy erupted on Saturday after female journalists were denied entry to a press conference held by visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki in New Delhi. Opposition leaders sharply criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, calling the incident a “shameful and regressive act.”
The press conference, held at the Afghan Embassy after Muttaki’s meeting with Jaishankar, allowed only a few selected male journalists. Women reporters were reportedly barred from attending, prompting widespread outrage among opposition leaders, journalists’ bodies, and women’s rights groups.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, “Women have the right to participate in every forum. Prime Minister Modi’s silence on this discrimination exposes the hollowness of his slogans about Nari Shakti.”
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh condemned the move as “shocking and unacceptable,” adding, “How can such exclusion take place in India’s capital on International Girl Child Day?”
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said male journalists should have boycotted the event in solidarity with their female colleagues. RJD MP Manoj Jha added, “This is not just a lapse in etiquette but a symbolic surrender of India’s moral and diplomatic standing.”
TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh accused the Modi government of “failing diplomatically” and “surrendering to the Taliban’s discriminatory ideology.” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed it an insult to the capable women of India and demanded that the Prime Minister clarify his position.
Meanwhile, the Central Government defended itself, clarifying that the decision to restrict access was made by the Afghan Embassy. “The press conference was organized within the premises of a foreign mission, and it is not under India’s control,” official sources said.
However, the Delhi Journalists Association and opposition MPs maintained that the Modi government should have objected to such exclusionary conditions. DMK MP Kanimozhi said, “Accepting such discriminatory practices is not diplomacy — it is a complete surrender of India’s integrity.”