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SP, NDA trade barbs in Uttar Pradesh council over women’s reservation, empowerment
The debate, held during a five-hour discussion on ‘Nari Sashaktikaran’, saw Leader of the House Keshav Prasad Maurya target the SP, Congress, TMC and DMK for “coming together” against the Bill. He alleged that the SP’s stance was anti-women and listed initiatives undertaken by the Centre and the state government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to promote women’s empowerment.
The special session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council on Wednesday witnessed a sharp exchange between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the ruling NDA over women’s empowerment and reservation. The treasury benches accused the Opposition of attempting to defeat the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, while the SP countered that it had only sought sub-quotas for OBC and minority women.
The debate, held during a five-hour discussion on ‘Nari Sashaktikaran’, saw Leader of the House Keshav Prasad Maurya target the SP, Congress, TMC and DMK for “coming together” against the Bill. He alleged that the SP’s stance was anti-women and listed initiatives undertaken by the Centre and the state government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to promote women’s empowerment.
He informed the House that 78% of village panchayats (44,968 of 56,994) had passed resolutions in favour of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Similarly, 81% of Kshetra Panchayats (671 of 826) and 63 of the 75 Zila Panchayats in the state had done the same. Data from urban local bodies, he said, was awaited.
Maurya asserted the NDA’s resolve to push the legislation forward, saying the government “does not step back once it takes a step”.
SP members rejected the charge, arguing that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 had already been passed and enacted, and that the current exercise pertained to delimitation. They reiterated their demand for a quota within quota for OBCs and minority women, terming the law “incomplete” without such provisions.
Post-lunch proceedings resumed with members across parties participating in the debate. The House later adopted, by voice vote, a censure motion moved by the Leader of the House condemning the conduct of those opposing women’s empowerment.
Tributes were also paid to former members Mahendra Yadav and Begum Mohsina Khaleel Kidwai, after which the House was adjourned sine die.
Among NDA members who participated in the debate were Bhupendra Chaudhary, Sanjay Nishad, Narendra Kashyap, Ashish Patel, Pratibha Shukla, Pragya Tripathi, Rama Niranjan, Vandana Verma, Devendra Pratap Singh, Rajni Tiwari, Vijay Laxmi Gautam, Hari Singh Dhillon, Dhruv Tripathi, Ashok Katariya, Santosh Singh and Yogesh Chaudhary. Dhruv Tripathi, representing the teachers’ group, also backed the NDA’s stand.
SP members who took part included Lal Bihari Yadav, Rajendra Chaudhary, Man Pal Yadav and Ashutosh Sinha.
