Yogi Adityanath Hails PM Modi's Vision for Women, Youth, Poor, Farmers at Kashi Conference

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, while addressing the gathering said, "... Today, on behalf of the state's half population and the residents of the state, I congratulate Prime Minister Modi at the Kashi Nari Shakti Vandan Conference. It is the result of Prime Minister Modi's vision that we are all witnessing the vision of a new India. This new India is setting new benchmarks in development... We are fulfilling the vision of a developed India... We all know that Prime Minister Modi has always said that there are 4 castes in the country, which include women, the poor, the youth, and the food providers..."

Yogi Adityanath further said, "... The responsibility to pass the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament was taken up by Prime Minister Modi in his own hands over the past 11-12 years for women's safety... The opposition has hatched a conspiracy to stall that right for women, under which they would get 33% reservation in the country's Parliament by 2029. Rage is visible in the hearts of half the country's population against it..."

BJP National President Nitin Nabin, while addressing the media said, "Kashi is not merely a city or a part of geography; it is the living consciousness of that eternal, infinite culture which has guided India on the path of knowledge, power, and devotion through the ages. I bow to this sacred land..."

"The changes that Prime Minister Modi has brought in women's lives... Today, women are not only connecting society but also providing decisive leadership... Today, when the whole of Hindustan wants to see women in leadership roles, the resolve that Prime Minister Modi has taken in this regard, he will certainly take this resolve towards fulfilment in the coming times..," Nitin Nabin added.

Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the implementation of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

In an X post, Jairam Ramesh called for the implementation of reservation for women's reservation with the existing 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, reiterating an opposition to the delimitation exercise.

Noting the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader wrote, "Now that the election campaign is over and his mischievous move to ram through a diabolical delimitation of the Lok Sabha has failed miserably because of Opposition unity and solidarity, it is time for the PM to do what the Opposition has been unitedly and consistently demanding since mid-March 2026."

"An all-party meeting should be convened to discuss how the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, (that was finally notified in panic only in the late hours of April 16 2026) can be put into effect with the existing strength of the Lok Sabha from 2029 onwards. It is possible. It is desirable. It is essential," he added.

On April 17, in the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against. With the Constitution Amendment Bill defeated, the government later said it did not want to pursue the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which were taken up together for discussion.

The Bills aimed to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816, with 33 per cent reservation for women. The delimitation was to be carried out based on the 2011 census.

Opposition parties expressed support for women's reservation but were against the Delimitation Bill. They had called upon the government to implement the women's reservation in the existing strength of the Lok Sabha.

- ANI