CM seeks consensus on women’s quota, blames opposition for delay during special session
By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 28 Apr: A one day special session of the Uttarakhand Assembly was held today in Dehradun. The special session was primarily focused on women’s reservation in Parliament and the state legislatures. Addressing the House, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today strongly backed the early implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023. The special session of the Uttarakhand Assembly was convened today on the theme ‘Nari Samman- Adhikar in Democracy’. The CM asserted that the Centre’s efforts to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures must receive unanimous support beyond political considerations.
Opening his address with tributes to women icons associated with Uttarakhand and India’s socio-cultural history, including Gaura Devi, Tinchari Mai, Bishni Devi Shah, Jashuli Shaukyan, Kunti Verma, Bhagirathi Devi, Mangla Devi, Hansa Dhanai, Sarla Behn, Belmati Chauhan, Sushila Behn and Kamla Pant, the CM called upon the House to rise above partisan lines and extend full support to measures aimed at empowering women. He underlined that, in the Indian civilisational ethos, women are revered as embodiments of Shakti (power), prosperity and knowledge, invoking the forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and said that the journey of women from participation to leadership was now clearly visible across various sectors.
Dhami described the Nari Shakti Vandan Act as a transformative and history making initiative brought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023 to ensure meaningful participation of women in policy-making. He said the legislation is not merely about increasing numerical representation but about granting rightful space to women in decision-making institutions. Referring to the special session of Parliament convened on 16 April, he stated that it was a decisive step towards realising the long-pending goal of political empowerment of women, but alleged that the Opposition parties collectively stalled the passage of the initiative and, in the process, obstructed an historic opportunity.
The CM also accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation on the issue of reservation and reminded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had categorically stated in Parliament that delimitation would not lead to any discrimination against states in terms of seat allocation. He maintained that provisions for increasing seats were aimed at ensuring wider representation, including enhanced participation of women, and questioned why the Opposition is opposing a move that could potentially increase Uttarakhand’s Assembly strength from 70 to 105 seats and parliamentary representation from five to seven or eight members.
Dhami further compared the present dispensation’s record on women’s representation with that of earlier governments. He noted that previous Cabinets under Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had only one woman minister, each, whereas the current Union Council of Ministers includes seven women ministers. He asserted that, under the present leadership, women are advancing rapidly in fields such as education, healthcare, employment, defence and space. He also cited examples ranging from Chandrayaan-3 to the induction of women in frontline roles in the armed forces to press his point.
Highlighting welfare measures, the CM said that, over the past 11 years, the gender budget has increased more than fivefold, with over Rs 5 lakh crores allocated for women and child welfare in the 2026–27 Budget, marking a rise of nearly 12 per cent over the previous year. He reminded that the schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao have significantly improved the sex ratio and female enrolment in schools, while institutional deliveries have risen from 61 per cent to 97 per cent. He also referred to the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, under which more than four crore accounts have been opened with deposits exceeding Rs 3.25 lakh crores, offering an interest rate of 8.2 per cent with tax-free benefits.
Dhami said that initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and Swachh Bharat Mission have improved health, dignity and safety for women, while the legislation against triple talaq has provided legal protection to Muslim women. He added that schemes such as Ujjwala Yojana have freed women from the hazards of traditional cooking fuels, and programmes like Mudra Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and Ayushman Bharat have contributed to improving the quality of life.
Mentioning the Uttarakhand-specific initiatives, the CM stated that the state government has allocated nearly Rs 20,000 crores under the gender budget this year, an increase of about 16 per cent over the previous year. He also mentioned the schemes such as the Uttarakhand State Rural Livelihood Mission, Sashakt Bahna Utsav Yojana and the Chief Minister Women Self-Help Group Empowerment Scheme, under which interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakhs are being provided, along with assistance of up to Rs 2 lakhs under the Single Women Self-Employment Scheme. He added that products made by women’s groups are being developed into brands under the Mukhyamantri Udyamshala Yojana, and over 2.65 lakh women in the state have become “Lakhpati Didis”, marking a significant milestone in economic empowerment.
Dhami also emphasised that Uttarakhand has implemented 30 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and 33 per cent reservation in cooperative societies, while a women’s sports college is being established in Lohaghat at a cost of approximately Rs 256 crore. Referring to the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, he claimed that the UCC has helped eliminate practices such as halala, iddat, polygamy, child marriage and triple talaq, thereby strengthening the rights of women.
Amid interruptions and protests by Opposition members in the House, the CM continued his address and accused the Opposition members of engaging in vote bank politics and failing to prioritise the interests of women. He alleged that Opposition parties are opposed to the reservation measure because its successful implementation would politically benefit the Prime Minister. He reiterated that even then, the Prime Minister had expressed willingness to credit the Opposition for the initiative.
Dhami further criticised attempts to malign religious events such as the Char Dham Yatra through social media, stating that while political opposition is acceptable, defaming the state’s cultural identity is not. Drawing a broader historical analogy, he remarked that disrespect towards women has always led to downfall, asserting that the empowerment of women is essential for societal progress.
In the end, the CM appealed to all the members of the House to adopt a clear and constructive stand on the issue of women’s reservation and emphasised that the goal of securing rightful representation for half the population must be achieved through collective resolve. He expressed confidence that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the long-pending objective would ultimately be realised.
