'Give Muslim women all tickets': Shah, Akhilesh clash over quota
16 Apr 2026

A heated debate erupted in the Lok Sabha on Thursday between Home Minister Amit Shah and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, with the former telling the latter at one point to give all his party's seats to Muslim women.

The discussion was centered around the Constitution Bill, Union Territories Laws, and the Delimitation Bill.

During the debate, Yadav slammed the central government for its "urgency" to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill without a fresh Census.

Census must be done 1st, says Yadav
Reservation debate

He alleged that the government is avoiding a caste-based enumeration.

Yadav asked, "Why is the Centre rushing for women's reservation? We are in favor but why do you not want a Census to be done? Start with the Census first."

He stressed that while SP supports women's reservation, it opposes implementation through delimitation.

Responding to Yadav's concerns, Shah said that the Census process has already started and plans for a caste-based enumeration are underway.

Shah hits back at opposition
Census clarification

Shah said, "The Census process has already started across the country, and after that, we will also conduct a caste-based census."

The home minister also called reservation based on religion unconstitutional, specifically for Muslims.

"Based on religion, reservation of any kind for Muslims is unconstitutional," Shah said.

This led Yadav to ask if Muslim women would be excluded from the 50% reservation cap.

Yadav demands separate quota for Muslim women
Sub-quota demand

Yadav demanded a separate quota for Muslim women under the proposed women's reservation framework.

He argued that representation should reflect social diversity and said SP wouldn't support the proposal without ensuring representation for OBC, backward class women, and Muslim women.

In response to this demand, Shah said, "We are not stopping the Samajwadi Party from giving all their tickets to Muslim women."

Three key bills introduced in Lok Sabha
Bill introduction

During the session, three key bills were introduced: the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill, the Delimitation Bill of 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill of 2026.

The government said these bills aim to speed up implementation of 33% reservation for women in both Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

A division vote was held with 251 in favor and 185 against introducing these bills.

Voting on the three bills in Lok Sabha will be held at 4:00pm on Friday.