LUCKNOW, May 1 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday hit out at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for opposing the Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment Bill in Parliament on April 17. Speaking in the state assembly during the day-long special session on women's empowerment, the chief minister said, "By opposing the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, the Opposition attempted to obstruct the political rights of women and diverted attention from the core objective by raising the issue of religious reservation." He further said that the demand for reservation in proportion to the Muslim population amounts to a serious disservice to the nation, and condemned it strongly. He stated that there could be no greater betrayal of the nation. He stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party has always supported reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, but has consistently opposed reservation based on religion and will continue to do so. He added that the country has witnessed the tragedy of the Partition of India, and it is the duty of every responsible political party to ensure such circumstances do not arise again. The BJP, he said, will continue to fulfill its national responsibilities. Raising the 1995 "guest house incident," Adityanath said, "If I speak about the Samajwadi Party, everyone remembers the 1995 state guest house incident involving the state's Dalit CM. The BJP supported the BSP leader and Dalit daughter. It was BJP's Brahm Dutt Dwivedi who risked his life to fight the Samajwadi Party goons to save her at the guest house." Criticising the SP for major crimes during its rule, Adityanath asserted, "You seek to divide society along caste lines. Referring to the alleged anti-women statements made by leaders of the opposition parties in the past, he declared, "Those who build palaces upon the foundation of dark deeds inevitably become a blot on the pages of history." Issuing a stern warning to the SP, he stated, "If you do not mend your ways, you too shall meet the same end. You seek to drag this nation back toward regressive fundamentalism." Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Yogi declared, "You must remember this, you are all cursed by the collective wrath of women. Forty years have passed, and the Congress party has become like a barren wasteland in Uttar Pradesh. During the Shah Bano case, the Congress bowed to the clerics; had they not engaged in such conduct, they would not have met with this ignominious fate." Sharing statistics, Yogi said in parliament women's participation is 15% and in the UP legislative assembly it is 12%. "If we raise it to 33% mandatorily and add a few more women members, the percentage will reach 35 for women in the UP legislature," he said. "However, the SP and Congress have opposed all steps for women's empowerment and dignity. You have seen this recently in parliament including the TMC, SP, the Congress and the DMK opposed women's reservation in the Lok Sabha, yet have come here demanding it.They (opposition) changed their colours like chameleons," he said, adding women's reservation isn't just an economic initiative but meant to ensure participation of women in policy making. Claiming that crimes against women have gone down, Adityanath noted that women's participation in the workforce, which previously stood at 13% has surged to 36% over these nine years. Furthermore, he highlighted that Uttar Pradesh's economy has tripled in size. He said if the Opposition truly supports women's rights, it should condemn the conduct of the "INDI Alliance", which was responsible for defeating the Constitution Amendment Bill to fast-track the implementation of 33% reservation for women in legislatures, in Parliament on April 17. The CM said the Jan Dhan bank accounts were the first initiative for women to ensure money under various schemes wasn't looted through commission but reached women directly. The country saw the opening of 30 crore bank accounts for women and you made a mockery of the effort, he said. "You kept asking where is Rs 15 lakh, and all these bank accounts saw money coming to women of the country under various schemes. Next came the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and toilets for every house," the 'chief minister said....