LUCKNOW, April 30 -- The special session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council on Wednesday witnessed a sharp exchange between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the ruling NDA over women's empowerment and reservation. The treasury benches accused the Opposition of attempting to defeat the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, while the SP countered that it had only sought sub-quotas for OBC and minority women.

The debate, held during a five-hour discussion on 'Nari Sashaktikaran', saw Leader of the House Keshav Prasad Maurya target the SP, Congress, TMC and DMK for "coming together" against the Bill. He alleged that the SP's stance was anti-women and listed initiatives undertaken by the Centre and the state government under Prime Ministe...