'Why Are You In Hurry': Akhilesh Yadav vs Amit Shah In Parliament Over Delimitation Bill, Women's Quota

A  high-voltage confrontation erupted in the Lok Sabha on Thursday between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over the 'contentious' timing of the women's reservation rollout, the census, and the politically sensitive issue of religion-based quotas.

Raising concerns during the debate, Yadav questioned the Centre's urgency in advancing the women's reservation framework alongside delimitation, insisting that the census should be completed first.

“Why are you in such a hurry. Why is the Centre rushing for women's reservation? Start with the Census first. Samajwadi Party is for women's reservation, but is opposed to the approach via delimitation. As soon as the census is done, we will ask for the caste census, and then the reservation issue will come. Hence, you want to do dhokha with us (cheat us.),” Yadav said.

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Responding sharply, Shah dismissed the concerns and reiterated the government's position, stating that the census process is already underway and includes caste enumeration. He also took aim at suggestions of religion-based quotas.

“Akhilesh Yadav asked why the census is not being conducted. I want to inform the entire country that the census process has already begun. The government has taken a decision to conduct a caste census, and the enumeration is being carried out along with caste data. If it were up to the Samajwadi Party, they would even assign castes to households. Dharmendra Yadav spoke about giving reservations to Muslim women. This is unconstitutional. Reservation based on religion is unconstitutional,” Shah said.

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, meanwhile, opposed the government's legislative package, even as he reiterated his party's support for women's reservation.

“We oppose the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and Delimitation Bill, 2026... There is no other party which is a bigger supporter of women's reservation,” he said.

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The bills — including the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and amendments to Union Territories laws — were introduced in the House by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Amit Shah as part of the government's push to operationalise the women's reservation framework.

The Centre has convened a special three-day sitting of Parliament from April 16 to 18 to fast-track the legislative process linked to the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, with a proposal also moved to suspend procedural rules to enable the passage of interlinked bills together.

The government has indicated that it aims to implement women's reservation from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, based on the 2011 Census.

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