Chandigarh, April 27 In a significant step towards women empowerment, the Haryana Assembly during its special one-day session on Monday approved a government resolution in the absence of the main Opposition Congress for the formation of a special committee on women empowerment.
With this initiative under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, Haryana will become the first state to take such a step. The resolution in this regard was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mahipal Dhanda.
Accepting Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s request at the conclusion of the session, Speaker Harvinder Kalyan announced the formation of a nine-member special committee on women empowerment in the Vidhan Sabha.
The committee will include five women members, including the Chairperson. The tenure of the committee will be one year.
CM Saini expressed his gratitude to the Speaker and the members of the House for approving the formation of the committee.
The Chief Minister said the constitution of the committee would strengthen women in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the committee would prove to be a milestone in the direction of women's empowerment.
The Congress boycotted the session and held a mock session of the Assembly outside the Vidhan Sabha.
Speaking in the House, CM Saini underlined that no society can be truly progressive unless women are guaranteed dignity, equal opportunities, and a decisive role in governance and nation-building.
Reflecting this commitment, the Chief Minister moved a significant resolution, advocating 33 per cent reservation for women in state Assemblies, in line with similar provisions in the Lok Sabha.
The resolution was passed by voice vote in the House.
The Chief Minister also referred to the broader national vision of building a Viksit Bharat by 2047, underlining that women constitute one of the four key pillars of this resolve.
He said the women are one of the four key pillars of this vision, alongside the poor, youth, and farmers, and their participation is essential to achieving the goal of a developed India. He highlighted that under the leadership at the national level, concrete steps have been taken to ensure women’s participation in governance.
He mentioned the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023, aimed at ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament and state Assemblies. The Chief Minister said that while the law was initially expected to be implemented by 2034, efforts are being made to advance its implementation to 2029. He also referred to the special session of Parliament held in April to advance this historic legislation and strengthen women’s representation in legislative bodies.
The Chief Minister slammed the Congress, stating that its conduct has once again exposed its approach towards women’s rights.
“The Congress has once again exposed its real face. When it comes to women’s rights, they step back at the crucial moment,” he said, adding the same attitude seen in the Lok Sabha was repeated in the state Assembly.
CM Saini clarified that the resolution was brought to provide an opportunity for course correction. Expressing disappointment, the Chief Minister said that when the House convened specifically to deliberate on women’s empowerment, the Opposition chose to remain absent and walked out. They speak about women’s empowerment outside the House, but avoid even participating in discussion when it matters inside, he said.
“This resolution is an opportunity for course correction, but instead of supporting the women, the Opposition chose to walk out.” The Chief Minister added that the Opposition should have remained present in the House and participated in the discussion rather than resorting to a walkout.
The Chief Minister said the conduct of the Congress and its INDI alliance clearly showed a lack of seriousness towards women’s rights. He said their absence “is not just political, it reflects indifference towards the rights of women”. He said that due to flawed policies in the past, women have not received their full rights, and this was an opportunity to correct that.
The Chief Minister said this was a crucial opportunity for the Opposition to support the resolution and send a positive message to its top leadership. “If there is any mistake at the top level, this House could have corrected it. But they chose to follow the same approach here as well,” he said.
The Chief Minister emphasised that such behaviour should be condemned. He said the Opposition should have stayed in the House, participated in the discussion, and if they wished to protest, they should have done so after placing their views or recording their dissent.
He further said their absence “is extremely unfortunate and indicated that a formal condemnation resolution against their conduct should be brought in the House”.
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