Lucknow, Apr 21 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday claimed that by opposing the Constitution amendment bill to implement women’s quota, the Congress and the SP “misused” the option given to them by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to shed their “anti-women image”.
He made the remarks after participating in the ‘Jan Aakrosh Mahila Padyatra’ here to protest against the Opposition’s obstruction of the bill.
Thousands of women marched from the chief minister’s 5 Kalidas Marg residence to the Vidhan Bhavan via Civil Hospital.
Adityanath led the march along with Union minister and Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, leaders of allied parties, members of the cabinet and office bearers of various BJP units.
“In protest against this injustice, women across the country have taken to the streets in a democratic manner to express their anger. Despite the intense heat in Lucknow, the participation of thousands of women reflected widespread public support and blessings for the policies of the prime minister,” the chief minister said.
The government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement women’s quota and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House last Friday.
Addressing party workers outside the Uttar Pradesh legislative building, Adityanath said, “Be it the Congress or the Samajwadi Party, their face is undemocratic, their deeds are anti-women. They tried to misuse the option given to them by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to shed their anti-women image.” “Hence, the ‘aadhee abadee’ (women) is staging protests on the streets across the country against the Congress and its allies,” he added.
Adityanath also said the march symbolises the resentment among women against the “anti-women” attitude of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, TMC and the DMK.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said there are only four castes in the country. The first caste is women, the second is poor, the third is youth, the fourth is farmers. By centering all policies around these four groups, he has successfully steered the nation to a new pinnacle of economic progress,” he noted.
“Whether it is the work of ushering in a new era of infrastructure, preserving India’s rich heritage in alignment with the vision of a ‘new India,’ or implementing schemes aimed at the uplift of various sections of society, the focal point of all these schemes is ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power). Numerous programmes have been launched specifically to ensure their dignity, security, and self-reliance,” he said.
Citing various schemes for women, Adityanath said they serve as the foundation of their self-reliance.
“Prime Minister Modi has formulated all these schemes by placing the ‘aadhee aabadee’ (women) as well as the poor, the youth, and the ‘annadata’ (farmers) at the centre,” he said.
The chief minister referred to the Swachh Bharat Mission, Ujjwala Scheme, andf Ayushman Bharat scheme as foundations of women’s self-reliance.
At the rally, Education Minister Gulab Devi likened the SP and the Congress to frogs, whose fate is to end up in the gutter.
“The mindset of the SP and Congress is similar to that of a frog. If they jump, they will only fall into a drain. The women must recognise the mentality of the opposition,” she said.
Women Welfare Minister Baby Rani Maurya said Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and SP MP Dimple Yadav thumped desks when the bill was defeated in Parliament and called upon women to avenge this “insult”.
Former BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi said the opposition blocked the bill due to an “anti-women mindset.” State BJP chief Chaudhary termed the INDIA bloc as an anti-women alliance and said it will bear its consequences in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
He claimed some parties argued the Constitution amendment bill would create a divide between north and south India, while others demanded a separate reservation for Muslim women.
Chaudhary said all objections were answered in detail in the Parliament, but the Opposition, in pursuit of vote-bank politics, ended up hurting the interests of 80 per cent majority women in the name of 20 per cent minority women.
“The SP and the Congress continued to oppose the Women’s Reservation (Bill), because they knew that if ordinary women move ahead, the very foundations of their family would be shaken. It is for this reason that they continued to oppose the bill,” Chaudhary claimed.
Deputy Chief Minister Maurya said, “The SP will be wiped out.” He questioned whether any party can win elections in 2027 without women’s support.
Fellow deputy chief minister Pathak said, “Today, the women of the state are out on the streets. Due to the alleged nexus and narrow mindset of SP and Congress, the (amendment to) Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was obstructed in Parliament.” He claimed that during SP governments, criminals openly harassed women, which is why slogans like “Dekh Sapaai, bitiya ghabraayee (daughter gets frightened on seeing a SP worker)” are raised.
Rajya Sabha member Arun Singh said April 17 could have been a historic day. “But Congress and SP opposed the amendment and voted against it in Parliament.” Meanwhile, Babita, who came from Hardoi to participate in the march, said that the “insult to women” will no longer be tolerated.
Kirti from Lucknow said, “Political opportunities should not be limited to the women of a few political families, and the time has come to provide equal opportunities to all.” Kanta Devi from Barabanki said she was elated to hear about women’s reservation, “but parties like the Samajwadi Party and Congress obstructed it.” Congress has already lost its future in Uttar Pradesh, and now it is SP’s turn, she said.
Savita from Unnao said that the BJP thinks about women’s rights, whereas the Opposition only talks about women’s dignity for votes. “The time has come to teach them a lesson,” she said.
Vaishali, a student from Ayodhya, said that increasing women’s participation in politics has become essential.
UP ministers Om Prakash Rajbhar, Ashish Patel, AK Sharma, Anil Kumar, Rajni Tiwari, Pratibha Shukla, Vijay Lakshmi Gautam, Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, and BJP Mahila Morcha state president attended the rally.
Rajya Sabha MP Geeta Shakya, MLAs Jai Devi, Aditi Singh, Asha Maurya, State Women’s Commission vice-chairperson Aparna Yadav, Charu Chaudhary, and State Women Welfare Corporation chairperson Kamalawati Singh, too, were part of it. PTI NAV VN VN
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