BJP trying to mislead people over defeat of women's bill, targeting legislative process: SP leader

Pandey said in a Samajwadi Party legislature party meet held here, he introduced a Ati Ninda Prastav strong condemnation motion against the BJPs move to bring a Ninda Prastav in the state assemblys special session on April 30.

Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey on Wednesday accused the ruling party of attempting to introduce an ''unconstitutional'' condemnation motion in the state assembly to mislead people following the defeat of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament. Pandey said in a Samajwadi Party legislature party meet held here, he introduced a ''Ati Ninda Prastav (strong condemnation motion)'' against the BJP's move to bring a 'Ninda Prastav' in the state assembly's special session on April 30. Pandey said the BJP is attempting to provoke people, and women in particular, after their legislative agenda failed in Parliament, noting that there is no provision in the Constitution or the House rule book for such a motion. ''We strongly condemn the proposal they wish to bring. When their bill fell in Parliament, they turned to this tactic to mislead people,'' Pandey said, adding that while House rules allow motions of praise or condemnation against individuals, they cannot be used to target the legislative process. The senior SP leader alleged that the BJP's push for women's reservation was a veiled attempt at electoral engineering, and had little to do with genuine empowerment. At a press conference here, Pandey said several SP leaders spoke on the ''Ati Ninda Prastav'' against the BJP's move during the legislature party meet, claiming the ruling party intended to secure victory through ''arbitrary delimitation'' rather than ensuring fair election of women representatives. The motion was later passed by a voice vote, with the LoP announcing that the party has approved the strong counter-condemnation motion, asserting that the BJP's proposed move lacks any legal or procedural standing. Labeling the BJP's claims as ''lies'', Pandey said the failure of the Women's Reservation Bill, which he termed the delimitation bill, has exposed the government's true intentions, leading the Samajwadi Party to adopt its own ''Ati Ninda'' proposal to counter the government's narrative on the floor of the House. A day-long special session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly has been convened on Thursday, focusing on women's reservation. According to a notification issued by Assembly Principal Secretary Pradeep Kumar Dubey, Governor Anandiben Patel had summoned the 18th Legislative Assembly for its second session of 2026 on Thursday, April 30, at 11 am. Sources in the assembly secretariat said the session would focus on a special discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), which was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17. The BJP, according to the SP, wants to bring a condemnation motion against the opposition during the session. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to operationalise women's reservation by 2029, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. The BJP claimed it would also expose opposition parties in the Assembly. Led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a protest march was held from his official residence to the Vidhan Bhavan last week. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had said the BJP could have implemented women's reservation from the very next election if they wanted to, as it had been passed in 2023.