Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the BJP of using the Women’s Reservation Bill as a “pretext” to carry out the delimitation and redrawing of Lok Sabha constituencies for electoral gains.
“It is difficult to understand the BJP. When people were told that SIR would be implemented, they were doing NRC. Now, in the name of women’s reservation, they want to create Lok Sabha of their choice by delimitation so that they do not have to face defeat,” Yadav told reporters.
He said the SP supports reservation for women, but questioned its link with delimitation. He asked, “We are in favor of reservation for women. Why do they want to create a constituency of their own choice?”
Giving the example of Noida, Yadav also raised the issue of wages. He said, “The minimum wage in Noida is the lowest in the country. What are you doing about it? You are helping some people so that they can earn more profits.”
Earlier this week, workers’ protest demanding minimum wages turned violent on Monday when clashes with police led to stone pelting and burning of vehicles.
However, Noida Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said the workers’ protest in Gautam Buddha Nagar remained largely peaceful, with violence breaking out at only two of the 83 sites, as a high-level government committee announced the interim wage hike and the formation of a wage board to address workers’ concerns.
Reiterating his comments on X, Yadav said his party supports women’s reservation but opposes linking it with delimitation.
In a video, Yadav said, “It is very difficult to understand the decisions of the Bharatiya Janata Party. They were implementing NRC in the name of SIR. Now, in the name of women’s reservation, they want to arbitrarily delimit and create Lok Sabha constituencies so that they never have to face defeat.”
Additionally, SP MP Dimple Yadav said that the party is not in favor of constitutional amendment in its current form.
She further said that the party wants the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in 2023 to be implemented through a specific sequence, and questioned the government’s intention.
Speaking to reporters, Dimple Yadav said, “The party’s stand is that we are not in favor of the constitutional amendment proposed by them, because they want to use the entire process for their own benefit by using delimitation as an excuse. The Samajwadi Party wants that the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in 2023 should be implemented in such a way that first the census is conducted, then the delimitation process is completed and finally seats are reserved for women to get their rights.”
He further said, “We understand what is important; we want women to come and sit in the House. However, like the proverbial ‘elephant’s teeth’, one pair for show and the other for food, the government also seems to be behaving in a similar manner. The show is one thing, but in reality it wants to get delimitation done on the basis of 20-year-old census under the pretext of delimitation. Therefore, the intentions and motives of the government are not at all clear.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier tried to allay opposition parties’ apprehensions over delimitation of constituencies and a “proportional increase” in the strength of the Lok Sabha to implement the Women’s Reservation Act from the 2029 elections.
The Lok Sabha is continuing discussion and voting on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.
Besides, voting is also taking place on the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. Also, voting is taking place on the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase the number of Lok Sabha constituencies to 850.
