Viral: Woman confronts police, senior minister over traffic chaos in Mumbai; netizens say, ‘Give this lady Bharat Ratna’

A Mumbai woman has become the talk of social media after confronting a senior BJP minister at a political rally. The incident took place on 21 April in the Worli area of Mumbai. It was caught on camera and quickly went viral on social media.

The woman was reportedly stuck in heavy traffic for over an hour. She said she was trying to pick up her child from school. The traffic jam was caused by a BJP rally called "Mahila Jan Aakrosh".

The event was organised by Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Girish Mahajan. The rally was held at Jambori Maidan to protest against the opposition parties.

The BJP-led NDA earlier could not pass the constitutional amendment bill aimed at fast-tracking 33% reservation for women in legislatures. However, there were not enough votes in favour as the opposition alleged that it was ‘delimitation’ in disguise as women's reservation.

Fed up with waiting, the woman stepped out of her vehicle. She walked straight into the rally where Mahajan was addressing the media. She confronted him directly and loudly.

"Get out of here. You are causing a traffic jam," she said.

She demanded to know why the rally was held on a busy road. She pointed out that an empty ground was available nearby.

She refused to back down even when police tried to intervene. She lashed out at the officers, too, demanding that the traffic chaos be resolved first.

Opposition parties were quick to use the clip. Leaders from Congress and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) shared the video to criticise the BJP.

One user wrote that she spoke for every income tax-paying Indian. According to another user, she reminded politicians they were public servants, not rulers.

“Someone give this lady a Bharat Ratna - she spoke for a million Indians - the 2% Indians who pay income tax… Lucky she’s a woman and the ‘protest’ was for women’s reservation bill, hence the babus remained silent!” commented a social media user.

“She exposed every politician. We, citizens, hate every politician doing this nonsense on the road,” wrote one user.

"This isn't limited to any one party. It applies to all politicians," wrote one user. "The problem she faced is one that every citizen shares," the user added.

“This is what courage looks like,” wrote one user.

Another called it "the beginning" of more such public confrontations: “This is the beginning, I can smell more confrontation in future.”

“Perfect, like this, more voices are needed, brave lady, educated lady,” came from another.

At the same time, many social media users thought her behaviour was inappropriate. Some said she should not have spoken to senior police officers so rudely.