Kolkata: At a time when women are at the forefront in various fields, organisers of an event in Kolkata have come under fire for asking women seated in the front row of the auditorium to move out of sight for a speech by Swami Gyanvatsal, a religious leader affiliated with the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Swami Gyanvatsal, chief guest at the event organised by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) last month, had reportedly asked for the women present in the first few rows to be moved back for his speech on “Viksit Bharat (Developed India) 2047”.
The ICAI apparently agreed to the demand and asked the women to comply. A video from the event now viral on social media shows an ICAI member announcing from the dais: “No ladies, no girls, no girl volunteers in sight, folks! Hustle up, he is on his way.”
None of the women reportedly objected to the diktat.
The video has drawn fire on social media, with users on X criticising not just the ICAI for inviting a religious leader as chief guest but also questioning why it obliged to his demand.
Speaking to ThePrint, chartered accountant (CA) Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, who is also ICAI president and was present at the event, said: “We are concerned why such a thing happened and have seen the viral video as well. We have set up an internal enquiry and the board of studies is looking into the matter because we do not support such an announcement at our event. Rest assured, proper action will be taken.”
He claimed that the ICAI stood for women empowerment, and said that “every third CA in the country is a woman”.
“Out of the 9 lakh CAs in the country, 43 percent are women. We have seen a surge of 15-20 percent among women CAs over the last few years. We hold about 75,000 programmes across India every year and have never faced such a problem before. We are looking into it very seriously,” he added.
The ICAI had on 22-23 June held an international conference with the theme “Drishti se Srishti” at Kolkata’s Biswa Bangla Convention Centre that saw participation from more than 3,600 CA students from across the globe and was presided over by prominent ICAI members and influencers.
The CPM said on X: “Saffron stranglehold on education. Women attending an international conference of chartered accountancy students in Kolkata were forced to vacate the first five rows of the hall on the demand of the chief guest Swami Gyanvatsal of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. He threatened to leave if his demand was not accepted. Would they dare do the same to the finance minister as she is a woman?”
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, to which Swami Gyanvatsal — a mechanical engineering graduate — is affiliated, is a spiritual volunteer-driven organisation that aims “to inculcate Hindu ideals and faith”.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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