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Uttarakhand CM Dhami attacks opposition at women’s rally in Dehradun, flags Nari Shakti Vandan Act
In support of women's empowerment, Uttarakhand CM Dhami led a massive rally in Dehradun, criticizing the opposition's resistance to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday led a large women’s rally at Parade Ground in Dehradun, launching a sharp attack on the opposition over the Nari Shakti Vandan Act and accusing it of denying women their rightful place in the democratic system.
According to an official press release, Dhami participated in the Mahila Jan Aakrosh Rally and later joined a protest march from Parade Ground to Ghantaghar along with thousands of women. The chief minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Nari Shakti Vandan Act was introduced to ensure women get their rightful place in the country’s democratic system, but “due to lack of numbers in the Lok Sabha, the bill could not be passed.”
He alleged that “the opposition conspired to deprive women of their rights” and added that blocking the Prime Minister’s efforts to secure rights for half of the country’s population amounted to “grave wrongdoing against the nation.” Dhami said women are now aware of their rights and will raise their voices against injustice.
The chief minister emphasised that the Prime Minister considers women as the foundation of building a “New India” and listed several initiatives aimed at empowerment. These include the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which he said have connected millions of women to banking services. He also cited Startup India, the Lakhpati Didi initiative and the abolition of Triple Talaq as steps supporting women’s progress.
“The programme has helped women advance in every field,” he said, adding that there were six women cabinet ministers during the Prime Minister’s first term and seven at present. He also referred to President Droupadi Murmu and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as examples of women reaching top positions.
Dhami said the Uttarakhand government has also taken steps for women’s welfare, including 30% reservation in government jobs and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code. He added that schemes such as the Rural Livelihood Mission, Sashakt Behna Utsav Yojana and the Chief Minister Women Self-Help Group Empowerment Scheme are promoting self-employment, noting that more than 2.65 lakh women in the state have become “Lakhpati Didis.”
The rally also carried strong political messaging, with the chief minister criticising opposition parties over their stance on women’s issues and accusing them of inconsistency. The event saw participation from several leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt, MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and multiple MLAs.
The development comes amid the BJP sharpening its political messaging ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. As reported by HT earlier, the party has indicated it will contest the polls under Dhami’s leadership, positioning governance and welfare as key planks of its campaign.
There were protests elsewhere as well, as the BJP Mahila Morcha in Nagaland organised a ‘Jan Akrosh Padyatra’ in Dimapur on April 23 to condemn what it called the opposition’s anti-women stance following the defeat of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, with state unit president Tsachola Rothrong alleging that opposing the legislation had caused “great damage” to women’s interests, as reported by PTI.
The opposition’s stance
Opposition leaders, however, pushed back strongly against the BJP’s narrative on women’s reservation.The Uttarakhand Congress alleged that the central BJP is using delimitation as a pretext to further its own political agenda, and has little real concern for women’s interests. According to the party, instead of ensuring concrete implementation of women’s reservation, the issue is being used for political mileage.
The Congress has also demanded that the Women’s Reservation Bill be implemented immediately based on the existing 543 seats in Parliament, without linking it to a future delimitation exercise. It maintained that women’s empowerment requires substantive action rather than political messaging, asserting that the party has a long-standing record on advancing women’s rights and representation.
(With agency inputs)
