BJP using Women's Bill as 'pretext' for delimitation to 'never lose': Akhilesh; Dimple Yadav flag concerns on bill

New Delhi [India], April 17 : Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the BJP of using the Women's Reservation Bill as a "pretext" to carry out delimitation and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies for electoral gain.

"It is difficult to understand the BJP. When people were told that there would be an SIR, they were doing NRC. Now, under the pretext of women's reservation, they want to create a Lok Sabha of their choice by doing delimitation so that they don't lose," Yadav told reporters.

He said the SP supports the reservation for women but questioned the linkage with delimitation. "We are in favour of women's reservation. Why do they want to create a constituency of their choice?" he asked.

Yadav also raised the issue of wages, citing Noida. "Noida has the lowest minimum wages in the country, what are you doing for that? You are helping some people so that they can earn more profit," he said.

Earlier this week, a protest by labourers over minimum wage demands turned violent on Monday, with stone-pelting and vehicles set on fire following an altercation with the police. However, Noida Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said the workers' protest across Gautam Buddha Nagar remained largely peaceful, with only two of the 83 sites turning violent, as a high-level government committee announced an interim wage hike and the formation of a wage board to address workers' concerns.

Reiterating his remarks on X, Yadav said his party supports women's reservation but opposes clubbing it with delimitation.

In a video posted, Yadav said, "Understanding the decisions of the Bharatiya Janata Party is very difficult. They were implementing NRC under the pretext of SIR. Now, using the pretext of women's reservation, they want to arbitrarily carry out delimitation and create Lok Sabha constituencies so that they never lose."

Additionally, SP MP Dimple Yadav stated the party is not in favour of the constitutional amendment in its current form.

She added that the party wants the Women's Reservation Bill, passed in 2023, to be implemented through a specific sequence, questioning the government's intent.

While speaking to reporters, Dimple Yadav said, "The party's stand is that we are not in favor of the constitutional amendment they are seeking, because by using delimitation as a pretext, they want to use the entire process for their own empowerment. Samajwadi Party wants the Women's Reservation Bill passed in 2023 to be implemented in a way where you first conduct a census, then carry out the delimitation process, and finally reserve seats to give women their rights."

"We understand what is important; we want women to come and sit in the House. However, just like the saying about 'elephant's tusks', one set for show and another for eating, the government appears to be acting in a similar fashion. While it shows one thing, in reality, it wants to use the pretext of delimitation and conduct it based on a 20-year-old census. Therefore, the government's intentions and motives are not clear at all, " she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier sought to allay the apprehension of opposition parties over the delimitation of constituencies and the "proportionate increase" in the strength of the Lok Sabha to implement the Women's Reservation Act from the 2029 polls.

Lok Sabha is continuing its discussion and vote on the passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them to 850.

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