Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Union government of rushing through the women’s reservation Bill without adequate consultation, alleging that the move is aimed at ensuring that the ongoing caste count – to be undertaken as part of the 2027 Census – is not factored into the implementation of the 33% reservation for women ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha election.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Yadav questioned the basis for proceeding with delimitation without updated population data. “Why has the government decided to have delimitation without the latest Census data? After agreeing to conduct a caste count, why is the government not accounting for it while bringing in far-reaching legislation such as the women’s reservation Bill?” he said.
Mulayam’s stance
In 2010, SP founder Mulayam Singh had opposed the women’s reservation legislation arguing for adequate representation of Dalit, OBC and Muslim women through a “quota within a quota”.
Questioning the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) commitment to women’s empowerment, Mr. Yadav pointed to the low representation of women within the party. “The BJP has 1,656 MLAs across the country, of whom only about 10% are women. Only 15% of its Lok Sabha MPs are women, and in the Rajya Sabha that figure drops further to around 10%. Of the 21 States where the BJP rules either on its own or with allies, only Delhi has a woman Chief Minister,” he said.
