LUCKNOW: A stormy special session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature took off to the exchange of sharp political attacks over women reservation amendment bill between the treasury and the opposition benches on Thursday.
While CM Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and BJP women lawmakers targeted the Samajwadi Party (SP), Congress, and the INDIA bloc over women’s issues and past incidents, the opposition, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, claimed it to be a conspiracy of the ruling party to draw political mileage.
Launching a sharp attack on Opposition, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party, Congress, and the INDIA bloc of being “anti-women,” citing their conduct in Parliament on April 16 and 17 when the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated in Lok Sabha.
While presenting a proposal for a detailed discussion on the Nari Shakti Vandan Act at the special day-long session of the state assembly on Thursday, the CM targeted Congress and the Samajwadi Party saying those parties were inherently "anti-women".
The CM said, “Those who decorate their palace with their dark deeds, go into the annals of history as a blot. By defeating the important proposal of Nari Shakti Vandan Act in the Lok Sabha on April 17, Samajwadi Party, Congress, DMK and TMC did exactly that. As soon as the proposal fell, they congratulated each other and raised slogans that they had prevented the women’s reservation bill from being passed. This was your conduct, which has hurt the entire House and the entire country. In this sequence, we have come to discuss this issue in the House today.”
“The amendment of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act should have been implemented in 2029 itself, but Congress, Samajwadi Party and the INDI alliance opposed it in the Lok Sabha. When women are proving their strength in every field through their talent and hard work and providing excellent leadership, then why are you becoming an obstacle?” asked Yogi.
Yogi said that disrespect towards women was ingrained in their nature. Whenever the Samajwadi Party came to power in the state, atrocities against women and brutal incidents crossed all limits of barbarity.
Claiming that the decline of the Congress party began after the Shah Bano case and attributing its decimation in UP to the “curse of half of the population,” CM Yogi said that the Samajwadi Party would also meet the same fate as it was following the same line.
He alleged that both opposition parties were engaged in politics of appeasement and keeping clerics in good humour, adding that they bowed to pressure instead of ensuring justice for women.
“If Congress had not succumbed to pressure and had ensured justice for Shah Bano, it would not have faced such decline,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister also said the opposition had missed an opportunity to improve its image by supporting the Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment Bill, and alleged that they were now trying to stall its implementation.
He also introduced a condemnation proposal over the alleged blocking of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, projecting Congress and Samajwadi Party as anti-women.
As proceedings began at 11 am in both Houses, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak folded his hands before the opposition and appealed for greater representation of women in Parliament.
“I request with folded hands and bowed head - please ensure our daughters and sisters reach the country’s highest decision-making body,” he said.
Referring to the guest house incident of June 1995, Pathak alleged that Samajwadi Party “goons and mafia” had attempted to kill BSP leader Mayawati, who survived after BJP intervention.
However, the opposition led by the SP countered the government’s claims, stating that the Women’s Reservation Bill had already been passed in 2023 and the government was delaying its implementation.
SP lawmakers including Sangram Yadav, Ragini Sonkar and Kamal Akhtar accused the ruling party of misguiding people on the issue. Ragini Sonkar said the special session itself appeared more like a political conspiracy than a discussion on women’s rights.
She said if the government was serious, it would not have notified the bill passed in 2023 only in 2026, calling the BJP’s “Nari Vandan” agenda fake and politically motivated.
On the other hand, Congress MLA Aradhana Mishra demanded implementation of women’s reservation in the 2027 Assembly polls.
The Assembly witnessed noisy scenes as BJP and SP legislators raised slogans against each other.
BJP women MLAs arrived holding placards reading “Sadda Haq Ithe Rakh” (Give us our rights here), while SP legislators demanded implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act passed in 2023.
Samajwadi Party members also surrounded Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana and Deputy CM Keshav Maurya during the protest.