Akhilesh seeks quota for OBC and Muslim women

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused BJP of turning "nari" (woman) into a mere "nara" (slogan) and using changes to the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, to delay census, while demanding reservation for OBCs and Muslim women as part of the quota framework.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he reiterated support for women's quota but said its implementation must be "honest and inclusive". "You can't achieve the goal of reservation without ensuring representation for Backward and Muslim women," he said.

Raising concerns over the delay in the census, Yadav alleged that the government was "cheating" by avoiding enumeration while pushing for delimitation. "The first census should be done. If it is not happening, then maps must already have been drawn in secrecy," he said.


Yadav also targeted BJP's record on women's representation, questioning how many women hold positions within its "parent organisation", a reference to RSS, and how many BJP-ruled states have women chief ministers. He remarked that the Delhi chief minister functions as a "half chief minister" due to limited powers in a Union Territory.