Troubles surface

Sir —

It looks like the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘women power’ is in deep trouble, with four leading lights facing serious allegations of corruption and impropriety. From Rajasthan’s Vasundhara Raje to Maharashtra’s Pankaja Munde and two Union Ministers, Ms Sushma Swaraj and Ms Smriti Irani, they are all facing demands for resignations with varying degrees of stridency. 

The BJP has taken pride in pushing for women power, and has given it due weight in the political scheme of things. From installing Ms Anandiben Patel as Gujarat’s Chief Minister to having Ms Sumitra Mahajan as the lok Sabha Speaker, the party has been at the forefront of 

women empowerment. 

On completion of its one year in office, along with the BJP leaders, many of us had thought that the last 12 months had been largely a corruption-free year, and a year devoid of any major negative issues. But circumstances look different now, with the crisis that the NDA regime stares at.