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The Uttarakhand government has convened a one-day special session of the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
The session will focus on a discussion titled 'Nari Samman, Loktantra mein Adhikar', with strict security arrangements put in place in and around the Assembly premises for the proceedings. The special session comes in the backdrop of national-level discussions on the Constitution Amendment Bill related to women's reservation, which was taken up in the Lok Sabha on April 17. The Lok Sabha took up the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill together for passing. In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill following the debate on the three bills, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against. With the Constitution Amendment Bill defeated, the government later said it did not want to pursue the two other linked bills. The bills aimed to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816, with 33 per cent reservation for women. The delimitation was to be carried out based on the 2011 census. The government said there will be a proportionate increase in seats for all states. Opposition parties said that they are strongly in favour of women's reservation but were against the Delimitation Bill. They called upon the government to implement the women's reservation in the existing strength of the Lok Sabha. Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the Mahila Jan Aakrosh Rally held at Parade Ground in Dehradun on Friday. During the event, he also joined thousands of women in a protest march (padyatra) from Parade Ground to Ghantaghar. The Chief Minister stated that the Nari Shakti Vandan Act was introduced to ensure women receive their rightful representation in the country's democratic system. However, he claimed that due to a lack of numbers in the Lok Sabha, the bill could not be passed, alleging that the opposition conspired to deprive women of their rights. He added that women across the country will raise their voices against injustice, as they are now more aware and conscious of their rights. (ANI)
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