Lucknow

Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that the Samajwadi Party and the Indian National Congress should explain their stance and apologise for not backing the women’s reservation legislation, if they have the “moral courage” to do so.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a one-day special session of the state assembly, the chief minister said the House would deliberate on multiple issues, including the Centre’s move under Narendra Modi to introduce a constitutional amendment in the Lok Sabha aimed at implementing the women’s reservation law. He criticised opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, for resisting the proposal.

Adityanath urged all legislators to actively participate in the discussion and called on opposition members to clarify their position. He said that if they believed their leadership had erred in opposing the bill, they should either apologise or back the condemnation motion expected to be introduced during the session.

Targeting the Samajwadi Party, he alleged that it had a history of being insensitive to women’s issues, accusing it of frequently shifting positions. He further claimed that both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had missed an opportunity to improve their image by supporting the women’s reservation measure, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

The chief minister also alleged that the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and allies within the INDIA bloc were attempting to delay or prevent the implementation of the legislation.

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During the special sitting on Thursday, the state government is set to table a condemnation motion against opposition parties for their stance in Parliament. The move is seen as part of a broader political strategy to portray the opposition as unsupportive of women’s representation ahead of the 2027 state elections, a charge that opposition parties have strongly contested.