Lucknow: Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, asking him to “wake up and apologise publicly” over the party’s stand on the Women’s Reservation (Amendment) Bill.
Maurya's Remarks in Legislative Council
Addressing the issue in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Maurya said Akhilesh Yadav should declare support whenever a session is convened on the Nari Shakti Vandan Sanshodhan Adhiniyam. He emphasized that women constitute 50% of the population and warned that parties ignoring their interests would face political consequences.
Maurya alleged that the Samajwadi Party, Congress, Trinamool Congress, and DMK did not support the proposed legislation, which seeks to increase Lok Sabha seats by 50% and reserve 33% of the total seats for women.
Support from Local Bodies
Citing widespread support from local bodies in Uttar Pradesh, Maurya stated that 44,968 of the state's 57,694 gram panchayats (more than 78%) had sent proposals backing the bill. He added that similar resolutions were received from 671 of 826 development blocks and 63 of 75 zila panchayats.
He said these proposals would be forwarded to the Prime Minister and described the response as “eye-opening”. Maurya also accused the Samajwadi Party of being anti-poor, anti-Dalit, anti-backward, and now anti-women. During his remarks, he announced that the government has approved a caste census and will carry it out.
Opposition's Response
Lal Bihari Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, accused the BJP of misleading people. He stated, “The Women Reservation Bill giving 33% reservation was cleared with full support on September 9, 2023. It was passed in the Rajya Sabha on September 23, and the President gave assent on September 28. How is BJP then saying that we are opposing it?”
He clarified that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is only asking for the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill but with delimitation based on a caste census. “Mulayam Singh Yadav was the first to implement reservation for women. We only want that OBC and Muslim women should all have their share in reservation,” Yadav added.
