During the first sitting of the Rajya Sabha in the new Parliament building, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, made remarks about political parties selecting weak women as candidates. He stated that political parties tend to nominate weak women who are not educated and cannot fight. Kharge further mentioned that ladies from backward and scheduled castes have a low literacy rate, which leads to their nomination as weak candidates. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, strongly protested against Kharge’s remarks on behalf of her party, the BJP, stating that his ‘sweeping statement’ was completely unacceptable. The sparring between Kharge and Sitharaman highlighted the differing views on the selection and representation of women in politics.