Women's reservation bill was BJP's political drama: Samajwadi MP Awadhesh Prasad

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 21 : Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad on Tuesday criticised the Centre over the Women's Reservation Bill and the issue of delimitation, calling it a "political drama" and accusing the government of misleading the public.

Speaking to ANI, Prasad said that the government attempted to link delimitation and census with the Women's Reservation Bill, which ultimately backfired.

"This was bringing delimitation and census along with the women's bill; that was their ploy in which they themselves got trapped," he said.

"And the women's reservation bill was their political drama because this bill had already been passed unanimously in 2023; whatever they are doing today is drama", Prasad said.

The remarks come after the BJP-led government failed to secure the required two-thirds majority to pass the amendment bill. In the Lok Sabha voting, 298 members supported the bill while 230 opposed it.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed that the bill did not pass. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre would not proceed with the remaining interlinked legislations.

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of blocking women's reservation, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, maintained that they support the quota but oppose its linkage with delimitation.

Earlier today, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hailed the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, accusing the BJP of a "dangerous game" by linking women's reservation to delimitation.

Addressing an election rally in Velachery, Tamil Nadu, Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the Centre refused to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026.

He said, "The BJP government tried to play a dangerous game by linking women's reservation with delimitation based on the 2011 census. It means punishing states like Tamil Nadu, which successfully controlled the population. The Opposition stood united, and Congress in Delhi led from the front, and DMK, TMC, SP all stood shoulder to shoulder to defeat the Bill."

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