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Parties opposing women’s reservation will face backlash: Keshav Prasad Maurya
Responding to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks seeking separate reservation for Muslim women, Maurya accused him of indulging in vote-bank politics and “Muslim appeasement.”
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday said political parties opposing women’s reservation would face backlash from women voters. Speaking to mediapersons at the Circuit House during his two-day visit to Prayagraj, he targeted opposition parties over their stance on the issue.
Responding to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks seeking separate reservation for Muslim women, Maurya accused him of indulging in vote-bank politics and “Muslim appeasement.”
He said the Constitution does not allow reservation on the basis of religion and added that the Union Home Minister had already clarified this in Parliament. “If Akhilesh Yadav wishes, he can field Muslim women candidates in his party in the name of representation,” Maurya said.
Responding to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s allegation that the BJP is politicising women’s reservation and had earlier opposed it, Maurya said she was free to make political statements. He added that the Prime Minister had remarked in Parliament that the Congress could take credit for supporting women’s rights if it wished.
Maurya warned that parties opposing the legislation would be “punished” by women voters, while those supporting it could earn their support. He reiterated that the BJP has consistently backed women’s reservation, while parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had opposed it in the past.
Referring to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act 2023, Maurya said it was introduced to ensure women receive their due representation. The Act, passed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term in the new Parliament building, aims to provide 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 elections.
On the recent Noida violence, Maurya said a high-level inquiry committee had been formed and assured that the government was working to maintain law and order. Commenting on the upcoming West Bengal elections, he expressed confidence that the BJP would win decisively.
Later, addressing a BJP event under the Nari Shakti Vandan campaign, Maurya again targeted the SP, saying Akhilesh Yadav would be confined to Saifai if he failed to back the bill. Calling women’s reservation a national interest decision, he also criticised the Congress for inaction and accused Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav of arrogance.
During the event, students presented cultural programmes on women’s empowerment and were felicitated. Twenty-four women achievers from various fields were also honoured, including four-year-old swimmer Satya Bharti, who crossed 100 metres of the Yamuna River in 21 minutes and 28 seconds, and 15-year-old footballer Swati. Maurya presented them with mementos and shawls.
