Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday, April 19, said the BJP-led NDA has no right to remain in power at the Centre because its failure to get a Constitution amendment bill passed in the Lok Sabha to tweak the women’s quota law has shown that it didn’t represent the will of the people.

“The opposition, in real terms, represents people’s will,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

Speaking at the party headquarters here, Yadav also said that the women’s reservation law can’t be discussed until the 16th Census is complete.

“The failure of the government to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha means it does not represent the will of the people. Therefore, it has no right to remain in power. The opposition, in real terms, represents people’s will,” he said.

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Criticising the proposed women’s reservation framework, Yadav said, “If the base itself is flawed, how can the outcome be correct? If the count is wrong, how can the reservation be right?”

According to Yadav, relying on outdated population data will undermine the foundation of the reservation policy.

“If 2011 Census figures are used, the very ground for women’s reservation will become incorrect. Our message to the government was that until a fresh census is conducted, women’s reservation should not be discussed,” said Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party, along with other opposition outfits, voted against the bill in the Lok Sabha.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.

The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to “operationalise” the women’s reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Alleging that the BJP’s politics is based on division, Yadav said, “First, it creates mistrust among people, then it splits them into groups and pits them against each other, and finally, it uses fear to consolidate support.”

“This is the ‘CMF’ formula – create mistrust and fear – a strategy now exposed before the public, and its effectiveness is declining,” Yadav said.

He also accused the BJP of attempting to divide women voters.

“It is trying to create divisions among women, but women today are aware, and they will defeat such politics while fighting issues like inflation, health exploitation and social pressures,” he said.

Yadav also raised concerns over representation, saying, “It must be ensured that Dalit, backward, tribal and women from the minority communities get representative justice. But without updated census data, such inclusion cannot be guaranteed.”

He also said that mere reservation without preparation would lead to tokenism.

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