Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav accused the Centre of trying to 'erase history' over amendments to the Women's Reservation Bill, stating it was already passed. The amendments aim to delink the bill from census and delimitation for the 2029 polls.
SP MP Accuses Govt of 'Erasing History'
Ahead of the passing of the Amendments to the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav accused the Central government of trying to "erase history", saying that the bill has already received unanimous support when it was passed in 2023. "History was already made. This law was already passed unanimously. Why are these people trying to erase that history?" the SP MP told reporters outside Parliament, ahead of the second day of the special parliament session.
Terming the BJP-led government as the "most corrupt, and dishonest", the MP added, "No government could be more corrupt and dishonest than this one (current central government)."
PM Urges Support Amid Opposition Criticism
The SP MP's statement comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the Opposition to support the amendments, saying that he is not looking for credit in implementing the law. "We do not want credit. Let this be passed. Take the credit. Whoever's photo you want to get printed, we will get it done at government expense," PM Modi had said in Parliament, referring to Opposition MPs.
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske on Thursday had also claimed that the Opposition MPs are misleading people on the amendments. "The opposition only wants to mislead the people. This shows that they are against the Women's Reservation Bill. The opposition should also support this bill," he told ANI.
What Do the Amendments Propose?
The Nari Shakti Vandhan Adhiniyam Bill, which grants 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies, was first passed in 2023. The earlier bill had linked the implementation of the bill post the 2026-2027 census and delimitation of seats. However, the current amendments look to delink both the processes and ensure the 2029 Lok Sabha elections are held with the reserved seats.
Lok Sabha is set to continue discussion and vote on the passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them to 850.
According to the list of Business for Lok Sabha, The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026; The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and The Delimitation Bill, 2026 will be taken up for discussion together. (ANI)
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