Women's Reservation Bill half-baked, mockery of a grave issue: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused the BJP government of bringing a "half-baked" women's reservation bill and said that women of the country will give a befitting reply by voting against it in the coming elections.

In a post on X, the SP president also accused the central government of commencing the very first session in the new parliament building with a "grand lie."

"When the women reservation bill cannot be implemented without the census and delimitation, which will take many years, then why did the BJP government need to lie to women," Yadav said.

नयी संसद के पहले दिन ही भाजपा सरकार ने ‘महाझूठ’ से अपनी पारी शुरू करी है।

जब जनगणना और परिसीमन के बिना महिला आरक्षण बिल लागू हो ही नहीं सकता, जिसमें कई साल लग जाएँगे, तो भाजपा सरकार को इस आपाधापी में महिलाओं से झूठ बोलने की क्या ज़रूरत थी। भाजपा सरकार न जनगणना के पक्ष में है न…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 20, 2023

"The BJP government is neither in favour of census nor caste survey, without which women reservation is not possible. This half-baked bill is a mockery of a serious issue like 'women reservation', women will respond to it by voting against BJP in the upcoming elections," he said.

The women's reservation bill, named Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, introduced in the Lower House provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The Bill carries a provision that requires a census and delimitation exercise before it comes into force.

The Samajwadi Party has been demanding a caste census for some time arguing the exercise is needed for inclusive growth.