Defeat of delimitation bill ‘victory for democracy’, says Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government over the failure of the women’s quota-linked delimitation bill to pass in the Lok Sabha, calling it a “defeat of the government’s intent” and a “victory for democracy”.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Lucknow, the SP chief said the development showed that the government did not reflect the will of the people.

“This is historic. The defeat of the delimitation bill constitutes a victory for democracy. This defeat directly implies that the government does not represent the will of the people; rather, it is the opposition that is representing the people’s will. This government has no right to remain in power,” Yadav said, adding that the foundation of BJP politics had always been divisive as it created mistrust by dividing people.

He clarified that the Samajwadi Party was not against women’s reservation, but was opposed to the hasty manner in which the bill was introduced.

“If a caste census is conducted, the nation will demand reservation based on caste. The BJP seeks to evade this. If the count is flawed, how can the reservation be accurate? Along with reservation, the women also require protection,” Yadav said.

“We had supported the bill introduced in 2023. The current amendment pertained solely to delimitation. The government could have announced reservation even based on the current strength of 543 MPs. We are in favour of granting rights and dignity to half of the population (women), provided that women from backward classes and minority communities are also accorded reservation within that framework,” he added.

The SP chief alleged that the BJP government was stalling the caste census and “conspiring to create rifts by sowing seeds of mistrust among women”.

Referring to recent fire incidents in slum areas in Vikas Nagar and Indirapuram (Ghaziabad), Yadav alleged BJP involvement and accused party members of encroaching on ponds and government land.

He said that justice would be ensured for all under a Samajwadi Party government and that the entire PDA (Pichhde, Dalits, Alpsankhyak) stands united to oust the BJP government.