Dehradun, April 24 -- The state Congress unit on Thursday staged a sit-in protest outside the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly demanding the implementation of 33% reservation for women in the state assembly. The protest, in which leaders and workers of the party participated, was held under the leadership of state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal. Addressing party workers, Godiyal said the Congress organised the one-day sit-in to press for women's reservation in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. "If the government is serious about women's empowerment, it should provide reservation for women in the state assembly," said Godiyal, UPCC chief. Among those present at the protest were former chief minister Harish Rawat, chairman of the state election campaign committee Pritam Singh, chairman of the state election management committee Harak Singh Rawat, national spokesperson Alok Sharma, MLAs Mamta Rakesh, Anupama Rawat and Ravi Bahadur and party general secretary (organisation) Rajendra Bhandari. Reacting to the protest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed the Congress demonstration a "political sham" while welcoming the decision to convene a special session on women's reservation. Mahendra Bhatt, state BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP, said it was ironic that the Congress opposed the "Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam" in Parliament but was now demanding a resolution in support of it in the state. Bhatt alleged that by opposing the women's reservation bill during the special session of Parliament, Congress and other Opposition parties have committed a grave mistake that angered women across the country. He said a special session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly has been convened on April 28 to reflect the collective will of the people of the state on the issue. Calling the Congress protest a political gimmick, Bhatt said, "the sit-in was an attempt by the party to distance itself from its stand in Parliament, where, he claimed, its members had opposed the legislation that seeks to ensure women's representation in legislative bodies."...