PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Indian National Congress spokesman Alok Sharma has said that the special session of Vidhan Sabha convened by the Uttarakhand government was an attempt to divert attention from the real issues. Addressing the media at Congress Bhawan on Tuesday, Sharma said that the Nari Shakti Vandan Act was passed by both houses of Parliament in 2023. The bill introduced in the special session of parliament was not related to women’s reservation, but was rather a delimitation amendment bill, he said.
Sharma said that due to the unity of the opposition, this arbitrary bill by the BJP could not be passed. Questioning the rationale of holding a special session of Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha, Sharma said that the parliament and not Vidhan Sabha has to take a decision on the bill. He claimed that a sum of Rs eight crore was spent on the session which was unnecessary, adding that taxpayers money was spent on a sham session. Sharma added that with a little prudence this money could have been used for women safety and providing employment.
Sharma said that as per the data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Uttarakhand holds the dubious distinction of being at the top in crimes against women among the Himalayan states but the government is avoiding discussing it. He said that the government deliberately added conditions such as census and delimitation with women reservation. Sharma said that it was the Congress party which ensured empowerment at the grassroots level by providing reservation to women in Panchayats.
The chief spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress Garima Dasauni said the government should provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the existing 70 seats of Uttarakhand Assembly.
