Women Reservation Bill must be balanced with Dalit, backward stakes: Akhilesh

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said reservation for women should be a balance of gender justice and social justice and demanded a clarity on share of backward, Dalit, minority, and tribals in the seats set aside.

In a post on X in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Women's reservation should be a balance of gender justice and social justice. In this, reservation for backward, Dalit, minority, tribal women should be clear in definite percentage form."

महिला आरक्षण लैंगिक न्याय और सामाजिक न्याय का संतुलन होना चाहिए।

इसमें पिछड़े, दलित, अल्पसंख्यक, आदिवासी (PDA) की महिलाओं का आरक्षण निश्चित प्रतिशत रूप में स्पष्ट होना चाहिए।

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 19, 2023

The SP chief's X post came after the Centre on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill – Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam – to reserve one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reviving a bill pending for 27 years for want of consensus among parties.

Making it the first bill to be introduced in the new Parliament building, the government said it will enable greater participation of women in policy-making at the state and national level and help achieve the goal of making India a developed country by 2047.

Earlier in the day, SP's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary demanded the share of Dalit and other oppressed to be provisioned in the reservation.

"As far as this bill is concerned, our stand is how much reservation will the backward get under the bill. We had opposed the bill when it was presented by the Congress-led UPA government, and today, when the BJP is bringing it, we are still not in complete agreement," he told PTI.

"We want justice for women and also want reservation for them. But what would be the quantum of reservation to backwards, tribals, Dalits?"

Chaudhary asked. He said a final decision on whether to support the Bill will be taken in Delhi, since senior party leaders Ramgopal Yadav and Dimple Yadav are there.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then Samajwadi Party president, had in 2009 opposed the proposal of the Women's Reservation Bill, calling it a "conspiracy" against the politicians who had reached the Lok Sabha through "hard struggle" and warned of a people's movement if the UPA pushes the legislation.

Yadav, whose party was supporting the government then from outside, had backed JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav's contention, who said if the Bill is passed without a consensus, it would tantamount to administering of "poison by force" by the ruling class to those against the Bill as had been done to Greek philosopher Socrates who was forced to drink hemlock on trumped up charges.

Union Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel had on Monday posted on X that the Cabinet has approved the women's reservation bill, but deleted the post within an hour.

"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfil the demand for women's reservation which was proved by the approval of the cabinet. Congratulations Narendra Modi ji and congratulations to the Modi government," the minister said in the now deleted post on X.

Patel is the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti.