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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday slammed the Congress and INDIA bloc parties during the one-day session of the Legislative Assembly, accusing the Opposition of "insulting women".
Uttarakhand Assembly has convened a special session to focus on a discussion titled 'Nari Samman, Loktantra mein Adhikar'. Addressing the Assembly, Pushkar Singh Dhami invoked Ramayana and said, "Leaders of parties like Congress, SP, TMC and DMK insulted 'Nari Shakti'. Hearing the manner in which all INDI alliance leaders were speaking in the Lok Sabha, I could sense arrogance similar to that of Lankapati Ravan. But perhaps our Congress leaders forgot that the end of arrogant Ravan came due to insulting Mata Sita." Ahead of the session, CM Dhami urged the Opposition MLAs to support the call for women's reservation. Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, he said, "Today, a special session has been called. Under the leadership of PM Modi, the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill was passed in 2023, and it was to be implemented in the country by 2029. Whatever happened in the Parliament of the country was witnessed by everyone. The path of progress of women was blocked, and I believe that we have gathered here today to discuss this issue. In Uttarakhand, I feel that our colleagues from the opposition should also support this and present their views in the session in a very cordial manner." Earlier today, Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Yashpal Arya underscored the need for greater representation of women in legislatures. Speaking to ANI, Arya highlighted the significance of the Women's Reservation Bill and reiterated his party's support for its implementation. "In 2023, the Women's Reservation Bill was passed, advocating for 33 per cent reservation for women in both the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, have unanimously supported this Bill," he said. Arya further stated, "We want the same for the coming Uttarakhand Assembly elections in 2027, but the central government is delaying the implementation of the Bill." The special session comes in the backdrop of national-level discussions on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill related to women's reservation and delimitation, which was taken up in the Lok Sabha on April 17. In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill, 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 Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which were taken up together for discussion. 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. Opposition parties expressed support for women's reservation but were against the Delimitation Bill. They had called upon the government to implement the women's reservation in the existing strength of the Lok Sabha. (ANI)
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