Lucknow: Both Houses of the Uttar Pradesh legislature on Thursday passed a censure motion against the Samajwadi Party, Congress, and other opposition parties for allegedly obstructing women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha.
The motion was adopted during a special session of the assembly and the legislative council, with Speaker Satish Mahana and Council Chairman Kunwar Manvendra Singh announcing its passage by a majority.
Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey opposed and condemned the motion.
He said if the opposition truly supports women’s rights, it should condemn the conduct of the “INDI Alliance”, which was responsible for defeating the Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, in Parliament on April 17.
“If the Samajwadi Party is in favour of women’s reservation, it should condemn the incident that took place in Parliament. We will condemn it. You should condemn it even more strongly,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Congress, he said, “They should condemn what transpired in Parliament, especially the actions of those who defeated the Bill and congratulated one another for doing so.”
Adityanath on Thursday, heaped criticism on opposition parties — particularly the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and other constituent members of the INDIA bloc (including TMC and DMK) — for the non-passage of the Bill.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill — aimed at implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies from 2029 and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 — failed to pass in the Lok Sabha on April 17.
During the division of votes on the “Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill, 2026” in the Lower House, 298 votes were cast in favour, while 230 were cast against it.
A two-thirds majority is required in the Lok Sabha to pass a Constitutional Amendment Bill. To secure its passage, the support of 352 out of the total 528 members was required.
While the BJP has blamed the opposition for stalling women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, the opposition has maintained that it was only against the delimitation bill.
A one-day special session of the Uttar Pradesh assembly was convened on Thursday to discuss the Bill.
Terming the Samajwadi Party and the Congress “anti-women”, Adityanath remarked that in the past, a slogan had gained currency in Uttar Pradesh: “Dekh ke sapai beti ghabrai (women tremble with fear at the sight of an SP member)”
However, over the last nine years, numerous big strides have been made in Uttar Pradesh toward the goal of women’s empowerment, he said.
Claiming that crimes against women have gone down, Adityanath noted that women’s participation in the workforce, which previously stood at 13 per cent, has surged to 36 per cent over these nine years.
Furthermore, he highlighted that Uttar Pradesh’s economy has tripled in size.
Criticising the SP for major crimes during its rule, Adityanath asserted, “You seek to divide society along caste lines.”
Referring to the alleged anti-women statements made by leaders of the opposition parties in the past, he declared, “Those who build palaces upon the foundation of dark deeds inevitably become a blot on the pages of history.”
Issuing a stern warning to the SP, he stated, “If you do not mend your ways, you too shall meet the same end. You seek to drag this nation back toward regressive fundamentalism.”
Adityanath also raised the issues of the 1995 “guest house incident” involving Bahujan Samaj Party president and former chief minister Mayawati and the 2005 murder of Raju Pal, the husband of Pooja Pal, now a BJP MLA.
“You people used to grovel before the ‘mafia’. Pooja Pal stands as the most glaring example of this; you failed to even wipe away her tears.”
Looking directly at the SP members, he further remarked, “Even a chameleon would feel embarrassed by your true colours. On one hand, you demand 33 per cent reservation for women; yet, on the other, you oppose it in the assembly.”
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Yogi declared, “You must remember this, you are all cursed by the collective wrath of women. Forty years have passed, and the Congress party has become like a barren wasteland in Uttar Pradesh. During the Shah Bano case, the Congress grovelled before the clerics; had they not engaged in such conduct, they would not have met with this ignominious fate.”
Adityanath proceeded to outline the various schemes launched across the country over the last 12 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, specifically aimed at the development and upliftment of women.
He said that it is ironic that the SP, Congress, and the INDIA bloc “have consistently opposed the progressive measures aimed at ensuring the participation of half the population”. Women across the country are outraged by the actions taken by the Congress, SP, TMC, and opposition parties on April 17.
Adityanath called upon the House to identify those “who act as impediments” to women’s self-reliance and empowerment.
