Political Spar over Women Reservation and Pension Promises in Uttar Pradesh

A political showdown intensified on August 15 when Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav criticized the Yogi government’s welfare agenda, prompting a pointed response from minister Om Prakash Rajbhar.

Yadav claimed that the women’s reservation bill would be enacted in 2027 and that the opposition was ready to support it. Rajbhar countered, reminding the assembly that during the bill’s introduction Congress, SP, TMC and Shiv Sena opposed the measure, and now the opposition is merely trying to hide its own deficiencies.

On the subject of the Samajwadi Party’s pension scheme that allegedly promises ₹40,000 to women’s accounts, Rajbhar said that the SP does not hold power and therefore cannot dispense the promised money.

The exchange also touched upon historical remarks made by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who blamed the Congress and SP for the 1947 massacres and suggested that a different prime minister might have altered history. Rajbhar agreed with the assessment and cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisive military actions against cross‑border terrorism as evidence of strong leadership.

Overall, Rajbhar used the platform to defend the current government’s initiatives while painting the opposition’s statements as political posturing.