Give all your tickets to Muslim women: Amit Shah jabs Akhilesh Yadav over quota

UPDATED: Apr 16, 2026 13:49 IST

A sharp exchange took place between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over reservation, Muslim representation, and caste census during the debate on the Women Reservation-linked delimitation bill in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Raising the issue, Akhilesh Yadav said that Muslim women should get separate reservations after the bill. He also questioned why the government was not waiting for the census, adding that his party would demand a caste census.

Responding to this, Amit Shah said the census process has already begun, and the government has decided to conduct a caste census. He said houselisting work is currently underway and confirmed that a caste column will be included when the census takes place.

Shah firmly rejected the idea of religion-based reservation. He said reservations on the basis of religion is not acceptable and granting reservations to Muslims on religious grounds would be unconstitutional.

Taking a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, Shah said Akhilesh Yadav can give all party tickets to Muslim women and asked where the problem is for his party. “SP can give all its tickets to Muslim women, we have no objection,” he said.

- Ends

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