Uttarakhand assembly discuss women empowerment as women protest outside seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari
Uttarakhand assembly discuss women empowerment as women protest outside seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari
S.M.A. KAZMI
Dehradun, April 28
It was an interesting day in the legislative history of Uttarakhand that while a special session of the state assembly discussed the steps being taken to ameliorate the lot of women and for their empowerment including the Women’s Reservation Bill. Interestingly, Chief Minister was magnanimous is eulogising the role of women in the formation of the state naming them including Kamla Pant, convenor of Uttarakhand Mahila Manch on the floor of the house. However, Kamla Pant was protesting outside the state assembly seeking Justice for Ankita Bhandari, a young girl who was murdered by son of a senior ruling BJP leader.
As part of the nation-wide strategy to target the opposition particularly Congress party for the failure of the Women Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on April 16, Uttarakhand BJP government at a special convened assembly session tabled a resolution in support of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ (Women’s Reservation Bill).
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took pains to highlight the steps taken by the Union as well as his government for the welfare of women and stated that his government was is in favor of granting women a 33 percent reservation in Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies. He expressed his support for the Central Government’s efforts to expedite the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill.
Chief Minister Pushkar began his address by paying homage to the activists of the Statehood Movement, as well as to the women who symbolize “Nari Shakti” (Women’s Power) in Uttarakhand—figures such as Gaura Devi, Tinchari Mai, Bishni Devi Shah, Jashuli Shaukyan, Kunti Verma, Bhagirathi Devi, Mangala Devi, Hansa Dhanai, Sarla Behan, Belmati Chauhan, Sushila Behan, and Kamala Pant. He asserted that there should be absolutely no politicization when it comes to supporting the measures being undertaken for the empowerment of women.
The opposition Congress vehemently opposed the assertions of ruling party. Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya contended that the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 and the intention of the Modi government to club it with delimitation smacked of ill-intentions. He called upon the Chief Minister to implement 33per cent reservation in the state assembly.
Meanwhile, members of the ‘Ankita Bhandari Nyaya Yatra Samyukta Sangharsh Manch’ (Joint Struggle Forum for Justice for Ankita Bhandari) took out a march to state assembly to seek justice for her and arrest of the alleged VIP.
Kamla Pant, convenor of the manch , stated that the BJP government is merely engaging in a charade of being pro-women by convening a one-day “Nari Shakti Vandan” (Women’s Empowerment) Assembly session. She charged that more than three years have passed since the Ankita Bhandari murder case, yet, the VIP culprits behind the killing continue to roam freely—even posing for photographs with the Chief Minister—while to this day, they have neither been arrested nor has any action been initiated against them.
She said that Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has exerted his entire influence to somehow shield the VIP culprits involved in the Ankita murder case, as the VIPs whose names have surfaced are high-ranking office-bearers within the BJP.
Nirmala Bisht another activist of the Manchremarked that Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami and the BJP government ought to feel ashamed for holding a one-day Assembly session in the name of “Nari Vandan.” Women in the state are losing their lives almost daily due to inadequate healthcare facilities, deteriorating law and order situation as murders of women are occurring frequently and women in the hill regions are falling victim to attacks by wild animals—all while the VIP culprits behind Ankita Bhandari’s murder roam openly in the company of BJP leaders. Has the BJP government ever genuinely discussed these critical issues concerning women? Instead, they are merely staging a political farce through this one-day “Nari Vandan” session.
Uma Bhatt of the Forum asserted that the conduct and character of the BJP are fundamentally anti-women, the party, which has actively sheltered and nurtured the VIP culprits involved in the Ankita Bhandari murder, is merely engaging in political theatrics under the guise of “Nari Vandan.”
The activists marching towards the assembly buildings were stopped by the police by erecting barricades where they subsequently staged a sit-in on the road and held a public meeting raising slogans denouncing the BJP government as anti-women.
Prominent amongst those who participated in the march included former Commissioner S.S. Pangti, Usha Bhatt, Padma Gupta, Vimala Koli, Vipin Negi, Brigadier (Retd.) Sarvesh Dangwal, P.C. Thapliyal, former IAS officer Vinod Raturi, Pankaj Kshetri, Shakuntala, Manju Balodi, Vijaya Naithani, Anil Dobhal, Suraj Negi, Tushar, Mateshwari Rajwar, Bhuneshwari Kathait, Krishna Saklani, Tanya, Deepa, Parvati Negi, Sushila Amoli, Sulochana, and others.
On the other hand, Uttarakhand mahila Congress also staged a protest against the state BJP government for enacting a ‘farce’ in the name of Womens’ Reservation Bill. Led by State Mahila Congress president Jyoti Rautela and senior leader Harak Singh Rawat party workers tried to reach the assembly building but were prevented by a strong police force.
Most interestingly, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who had given a call on the floor of the House to refrain from doing politics on Women’s Reservation Bill later in the evening took out a “Mashaal “ procession from Gandhi park till Clock Tower against the Opposition Congress for not supporting the Bill.
