Akhilesh Yadav backs women’s reservation bill, targets BJP agenda

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that his party supports the womens reservation bill Yadav on the other hand also alleged that the BJP was pushing it with a hidden agenda that sidelines backwardsclass women and avoids a castebased censusAs reported by news agency PTI Akhileshrsquos remarks come a day before the threeday special sitting of Parliament during which the womens quota and delimitation bills will be taken upFurthermore the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is also pushing for awareness among the masses on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam more commonly known as the Womens Reservation ActWhile taking it to social media handle X the Samajwadi Party leader said We support womens reservation but oppose the BJPs deceitful move which is being carried out as part of a conspiracyAkhilesh further 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 populationThe former UP CM also alleged The BJP and its associates are silent on the largest section of the population backward class women as cited by news agency PTIAkhilesh Yadav terms the Women Reservation Bill a ldquoMajor ConspiracyrdquoQuestioning 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 castewise data will also have to be shared and castebased reservation would followThe Kannauj Lok Sabha MP also 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 representationHe also added This is a secret plan by secret people against democracy which cannot be accepted unless there are reforms in the process as per PTIEarlier on Wednesday Akhiesh also alleged that the BJPs haste over the womens reservation bill indicated political desperationThe Lok Sabha MP said that 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 concedeReferring to the SPs 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 rightsAkhilesh Yadav cites issues related to rising inflation and economic pressuresAkhilesh further alleged that rising inflation and economic pressures had disproportionately affected women impacting household budgets and access to essentialsHe also cited issues related to education and employment claiming that women were among the worstaffected under the current dispensationHe 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 meaningfulWith inputs from PTI