By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 24 Apr: Even as the Dhami government prepares to hold a one day special session of the Uttarakhand State Assembly and likely table a censure motion in respect of the women reservation bill, the Congress too is gearing up to strongly oppose any such censure motion in the House. With the state assembly elections drawing nearer, both the major parties in Uttarakhand are now eager to strongly confront each other on almost every single issue to keep the political temperature in the high.
Sources in the Congress have indicated that the party has decided to mount a forceful opposition to any move by the ruling dispensation to introduce a censure motion during the session. What was being claimed by the government to be a focused legislative exercise is now poised to turn into a high-stakes political confrontation between the treasury benches and the Opposition.
It may be recalled that, so far, only sources in the BJP have claimed that the government is likely to table a censure motion against the Opposition for rejecting the Women Reservation Amendment Bill tabled in the Parliament which had proposed 33 percent reservation for women in the Parliament and the state legislatures. However, there is no official confirmation given to what will transpire during the one day special session. Although, the official agenda of the special session has not been formally disclosed, it is widely understood that the deliberations will centre around the revised Bill on women’s reservation and the political ramifications emerging from it. At the same time, speculation over the possible introduction of a censure motion against the Opposition has added a further layer of tension, intensifying the already charged political atmosphere in the state.
It may be recalled that the opposition parties had rejected the NDA’s 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill on women’s reservation, which sought to implement 33 percent seats for women in Lok Sabha and the state assemblies post-delimitation and census, effective from 2029. The bill included sub-quotas only for SC/ST women within the women’s quota but omitted OBCs, which was labelled by some Opposition parties like SP as anti-OBC and anti-Dalit. The opposition, including SP and Congress, also had opposed linking the bill to delimitation, fearing bias against southern states, and demanded OBC/Muslim sub-quotas for equitable representation, as Muslims form a key OBC segment. The bill failed 298-230, short of two-thirds majority, intensifying political divides. NDA accused opposition of blocking ‘Nari Shakti.’
The debate over women’s reservation has been gaining momentum across the country, particularly after the failure to secure passage of the amended version of the Nari Shakti Vandan legislation in Parliament. This has led to a renewed round of political recriminations between major parties, a trend that is now clearly reflected in Uttarakhand’s political discourse. The BJP has sought to frame the issue as one of women’s dignity and empowerment, while the Congress has questioned both the intent and the timing of the government’s initiative.
Sensing a strategic move by the government to corner the Opposition, the Congress has adopted a cautious yet aggressive stance ahead of the session. Party leaders apprehend that the ruling side may deploy a censure motion as a political tool to put the Opposition on the defensive within the Assembly. In response, the Congress has resolved to counter such a move both inside the House and outside, signalling its readiness for a sustained political battle.
Speaking informally to the media, senior Congress leader Pritam Singh was particularly vocal and he asserted that if the government proceeds with a censure motion, it will be met with a strong and uncompromising response. Singh also argued that had the government been genuinely committed to advancing women’s interests, the special session would have been utilised to arrive at concrete and implementable decisions. He claimed that the government should have ensured that women receive reservation across all 70 Assembly seats in the 2027 elections, rather than raising the issue in a manner that appears politically expedient. He maintained that invoking the cause of women merely for electoral advantage does not constitute substantive justice.
On the other hand, the BJP has shown no inclination to soften its position and has continued to target the Congress over its stance on women’s reservation. The party leaders have accused the Opposition of adopting an anti-women posture, citing its role in the parliamentary developments as evidence. BJP leaders observe that the Congress had exposed its true intentions by opposing the legislation at the national level, and asserted that women voters would respond decisively in due course.
That both the major parties are determined to turn this issue into their favour politically is evident from the fact that while Congress had staged a dharna yesterday outside the Vidhan Sabha demanding women reservation to be implemented in the state assembly, it was the turn of BJP today to stage a rally on the issue. The rally was led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself where he strongly criticised the Opposition parties and even the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the issue.
With positions hardened on both the sides, the upcoming special session is poised to extend beyond mere legislative matters. It may well transform into a high-stakes political battleground, where women’s reservation debates merge with a fierce clash over trust, motives, and public narrative. It would be interesting to witness the outcome of the one-day special session in a situation where Congress is steadfastly opposing any censure efforts, while the BJP appears to remain firm in leveraging its upper hand.
