Lucknow, Apr 15 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party supports women’s reservation but alleged that the BJP was pushing it with a “hidden agenda” that sidelines backward class women and avoids a caste-based census.
His remarks come a day before the three-day special sitting of Parliament during which the women’s quota and delimitation bills will be taken up. The BJP in Uttar Pradesh is also pushing for awareness among masses on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, more commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act.
In a post on X, Yadav, who is the leader of the third largest party with 37 seats (following BJP with 240 seats and Congress with 99) in Lok Sabha, said, “We support women’s reservation but oppose the BJP’s deceitful move, which is being carried out as part of a conspiracy.” He alleged that the ruling party and its allies were silent on providing adequate representation to women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who form a significant share of the population.
“The BJP and its associates are silent on the largest section of the population — backward class women,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
Questioning the timing and urgency behind the move, Yadav claimed, “The haste being shown in the name of amendment is actually aimed at avoiding a census because if a census is conducted, caste-wise data will also have to be shared and caste-based reservation would follow.” The Kannauj Lok Sabha MP termed it “a major conspiracy” to deny rights to backward communities by rejecting delimitation based on census data and said political parties should be allowed flexibility to implement reservation based on proportional representation.
“This is a secret plan by ‘secret people’ against democracy, which cannot be accepted unless there are reforms in the process,” he added.
In a separate post earlier in the day, Yadav sharpened his attack, alleging that the BJP’s “haste” over the women’s reservation bill indicated political desperation.
He said the party was attempting to avoid a nationwide census, which could lead to demands for caste enumeration and expanded reservation, something the BJP and its allies were unwilling to concede.
Referring to the SP’s ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) plank, he said the “A” also represents “aadhi abaadi” (half the population), meaning women, and alleged the bill was part of a larger design to dilute their rights.
Yadav, whose wife Dimple Yadav is also a Lok Sabha MP from Mainpuri, further alleged that rising inflation and economic pressures had disproportionately affected women, impacting household budgets and access to essentials.
He also cited issues related to education and employment, claiming that women were among the worst-affected under the current dispensation.
He said the government should engage directly with women from affected regions, including workers and families, before pushing such legislation, adding that the concerns of ordinary women must be addressed for any policy to be meaningful. PTI KIS PRK
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