Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an address in Lok Sabha and strongly pitched for the implementation of the women’s reservation bill from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, during his speech, the PM also called Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav a friend.
Prime Minister Modi, during his address in the lower house of the Parliament, stated, “Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party MP) ji, I am very grateful to you for introducing me. It’s true, I come from a very backward community. Akhilesh ji is my friend, so he helps me sometimes… I am indebted to the countrymen and I am indebted to the community builders because of whom I am here…”
Notably, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav opposed all three bills introduced by the government in the Lok Sabha, while asserting that his party is a strong supporter of women’s reservation.
Meanwhile, PM Modi sought unanimous support from all political parties in making 33 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament a reality, stating that it will make up for the lost time.
PM Modi on women’s reservation bill
The Prime Minister also described the discussion on the women’s reservation bill as a “historic moment” and underlined that their greater representation in the legislative bodies will give a completely new direction to the country.
Saluting the country’s “nari shakti” (women’s power), he said that it is the need of the hour to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies, and this must not be delayed. He also cautioned those against opposing it as this will have “negative consequences”.
Amit Shah vs Akhilesh Yadav in Lok Sabha today
Earlier, a sharp political exchange unfolded in the Lok Sabha on Thursday as SP chief Yadav questioned the Centre’s urgency over the women’s reservation Bill and demanded completion of the census before moving ahead with delimitation-related proposals.
Addressing the Lower House of the parliament, Yadav said, “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.)”
In response, Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly rejected any proposal for religion-based reservation, stating in the Lok Sabha that such a provision would be unconstitutional.
He asserted that a reservation cannot be granted based on religion.
Shah said, “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.”
The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, were introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by Home Minister Amit Shah.
The government has convened a special sitting of Parliament on April 16,17,18 to pass the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
The government has been seeking opposition support for passing the amendment bill to implement the women’s reservation bill from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls on the basis of the 2011 census.
