Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami addressed a special session of the state legislative assembly convened to discuss the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Bill) under the theme ‘Respect for Women – Rights in Democracy’. CM Dhami proposed that the House pass a unanimous resolution supporting the central government’s efforts to implement the bill at the earliest, which aims to provide 33 percent reservation for women in the parliament and state legislative assemblies.
Appealing to the House, the chief minister stressed there should be no politics when it comes to empowering women. He said that women are no longer limited to mere participation, but are now taking on leadership roles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023. The legislation provides for 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies across the country. In his address, CM Dhami alleged that opposition parties prevented the bill from being passed in Parliament.
CM Dhami slams Opposition:
CM Dhami stated that the opposition is attempting to mislead people on the issue of women’s reservation. He pointed out that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had clarified in the Lok Sabha that no state would face discrimination in seat allocation during delimitation, and that provisions for increasing seats were included in the bill. The CM added that despite ruling for decades, opposition parties never took concrete steps to grant women their rightful representation, and when such an effort was finally made, they obstructed it.
Centre committed to women empowerment:
Dhami highlighted that since assuming office in 2014, PM Modi has prioritised women’s empowerment. As a result, the gender budget has increased more than fivefold in the past 11 years, he added. In the 2026-27 budget, more than Rs 5 lakh crore has been allocated for the welfare of women and girls — an increase of about 12 percent compared to the previous year. Dhami further noted that initiatives such as the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, launched in 2015, have led to significant improvements in gender ratio and girls’ education. Over the past 11 years, the gender ratio has improved by 12 points, and girls’ enrollment at the secondary level has increased by over 3 percent. Institutional deliveries have also risen from 61% to 97% during the same period.
Benefits for Uttarakhand:
CM Dhami said that some people in Uttarakhand are also spreading misinformation about women’s reservation. He explained that after delimitation, the number of assembly seats in the state could have increased to 105, of which 35 seats could have been reserved for women. He added the state government has allocated around Rs 20,000 crore under the gender budget this year, marking an increase of about 16 percent from the last year. Self-help groups are being offered interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh, and under the Single Woman Self-Employment Scheme, financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh is being provided, according to the chief minister.
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