Chandigarh: The Congress on Monday skipped the special session of the Haryana assembly, stating that the ruling BJP wanted to condemn the INDIA bloc, through a resolution in the House, for the defeat of the women quota bill in Lok Sabha.
Leader of Opposition and two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told newspersons that the issue pertaining to the women’s reservation bill - the BJP sought to discuss in the session – did not fall in the state assembly jurisdiction. The Congress, which is the principal opposition party, instead held a ``mock session’’ in the parking lot of the assembly here.
Speaking on the issue, the chief minister Nayab Saini slammed Congress for its absenteeism during the special session, alleging that the day a black day in the state’s democratic history as it was a disrespect to the dignity of the House.
Clarifying the intent of the government’s resolution, Saini said that it was not political in nature and did not include the word ‘condemnation.’ He said the resolution was dedicated to the dignity, rights, and empowerment of women.
Stating that on April 16, 2026, the Central government introduced three important Bills in the Lok Sabha - the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies in 2029 and increase the number of seats in Lok Sabha, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill - Saini hit out at those Opposition parties that did not support the passage of the Bill.
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The Congress MLAs also refused to take the TA and DA for the session saying that the state assembly did not have powers to make laws on delimitation and women’s reservations, hence the boycott.
During the ``parallel assembly session'' held in the parking lot of the assembly, Hooda ``showed data to expose'', what he held, the BJP government's anti-women reservation policy. The party MLAs also passed a unanimous resolution supporting the Women's Reservation Bill, passed in 2023, and demanded that the government implement it with immediate effect.
