CA Students’ Conference Controversy: ICAI removes Women from Front Row on Guest’s Demand

The ICAI’s (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) International Conference for CA students 2024, held in Kolkata, is facing heavy criticism following allegations that women and girls were removed from the front rows at the request of a guest. No ladies, no girls, no girl volunteers should even stand during the session, please hurry up as he can come anytime, allegedly announced by a committee member through his microphone.

During the conference for CA students, ICAI President Mr. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal highlighted the increasing number of women Chartered Accountants in India. Ironically, the same women were removed from the front rows of the session at the demand of chief guest Swami Gyanvatsalya from BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. The Swami threatened to leave if his condition was not met, leading even female event organisers working backstage to vacate the area and sit at the back of the hall. Despite this, Swamiji spoke about making India ‘Vikasit’ and a ‘Vishwaguru’ by 2047, revealing a stark contrast between his words and actions. This is not the first time Swamiji has made such demands. In 2020, he left an event without delivering a speech after seeing women in the front row. However, that incident was handled with more dignity, and the pride of the women present was not compromised. In contrast, at the ICAI’s conference, prominent figures in the organisation acquiesced to his unreasonable demand, drawing widespread condemnation.