22 April,2026 01:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The woman confronts Mumbai Police over the traffic situation amid the BJP protest in Worli on Tuesday. PIC/X
A woman stuck in heavy traffic lost her cool and confronted Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan on Tuesday, blaming him and BJP protesters for creating a massive traffic snarl in Mumbai's Worli area.
The incident occurred during a BJP-organised protest rally over the Women's Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam). The demonstration, which targeted Opposition parties after the defeat of a related constitutional amendment bill, brought key roads to a standstill, causing severe inconvenience to commuters.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the visibly angry woman can be seen approaching Minister Mahajan while he was speaking to reporters. She snapped at him, saying, "Get out, you're causing traffic jam" and questioned why the protest was being held on busy roads instead of an open ground.
She urged the group to shift the demonstration elsewhere so that common people could move freely.
The protest was part of the BJP's 'Jan Aakrosh Mahila Sammelan' under the Mahayuti alliance. It started from Jambhori Maidan in Worli and was scheduled to conclude at the Dome, but delays led to gridlock in the already congested area near BDD chawls.
Many commuters, including the woman who was reportedly on her way to pick up her child from school, were stuck for hours. She even argued with police personnel who tried to intervene, demanding to speak to senior officers.
The video has sparked widespread reactions online, with several users praising the woman's courage while others criticised political parties for disrupting daily life with road protests.
Mahajan is a senior BJP leader and currently serves as Cabinet Minister for Water Resources (Tapi, Vidarbha and Konkan), Kumbh Mela, and Disaster Management in the Maharashtra government.
After the video surfaced on social media, Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal shared the clip, alleging that the ruling party's campaign on women's reservation exposed its "real face". He accused the BJP of misleading women for political gains and using the issue as a tool to push a "false narrative".
Congress Member of Parliament (MP) and party's Mumbai chief Varsha Gaikwad also slammed the BJP for allegedly inconveniencing the public.
"An ordinary woman in Mumbai confronted BJP ministers and workers and asked them to leave. This is an example of real women's power," Gaikwad wrote on social media platform X.
She claimed that people are no longer convinced by the BJP's "empty rhetoric".
"Those who cannot solve public issues only create traffic jams," she charged, adding that the woman's reaction reflected the anger of the people of Mumbai.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) also took a jibe at BJP, stating that its politics holds ordinary women to ransom.
Shiv Sena (UBT) lawmaker Sanjay Raut, in a post on X wrote, "Salute to women."
Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) legislator Parth Pawar said that the woman who confronted the minister has become a symbol of public frustration.
Several social media users supported the woman.
One user wrote on X, "It's almost 40-42°C here and people are forced to wait hours in the traffic, just because some political propaganda is taking shape be it of any party⦠end VIP culture."
Another user wrote: "Well done. Politicians and police has taken people for granted. Protests and rallies should be done at a designated place and should not block roads and bother general public. People should support such actions and should join people who fight for justice."
(With inputs from PTI)
