BJP leader challenges Rahul Gandhi over remarks on Muslim women and atheist pages

BJP national secretary K. Surendran has criticised comments by Indian Union Muslim League leader K.M. Shaji about Muslim girls following atheist social-media pages.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Surendran asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi whether he would speak up for Muslim women’s freedom of choice. He questioned whether women’s freedom was being applied differently in the case of a minister in Gandhi’s government. Surendran’s comments followed remarks by Shaji, who is Kerala’s Local Self-Government Department Minister, at a national seminar at the University of Calicut on September 27.

According to the source material, Shaji said young Muslim women were increasingly engaging with atheist content online. He also questioned whether Muslim organisations had adequately understood or guided this development. Surendran described Shaji’s position as concern about the progress of Muslim women and said it reflected patriarchy.

He framed his response as a question to Gandhi about whether women should be free to choose what beliefs and online content they follow. The exchange adds a political dimension to comments made at the university seminar. The source material does not state that Gandhi has responded to Surendran’s post, nor does it provide a further explanation from Shaji about his remarks.

Surendran is a national secretary of the BJP, while Shaji is identified as an IUML leader and a minister in Kerala’s local-government department. No details were provided about any action by Muslim organisations or about the number of people following atheist pages.