‘Red Fort is no place for lies’: Akhilesh Yadav attacks PM Modi over women’s quota pitch

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misleading the country from the Red Fort, questioning his renewed appeal for political consensus on women’s reservation when the legislation had already been enacted in 2023.

Modi, during his Independence Day address, urged political parties to set aside their differences and help secure 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures.

Responding to the remarks, Yadav said the government should implement the law during the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections if it was serious about increasing women’s political representation.

“One should not speak lies from the Red Fort. It is not the place from where lies should be spoken,” Yadav told reporters at the Samajwadi Party office.

“Everyone knows that the women’s reservation Bill has already been passed. If the government genuinely intends to implement the law, it should do so in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections. We are ready,” he said.

Yadav added that implementing the quota would enable many women who currently lacked political opportunities to contest elections.

Parliament unanimously passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in September 2023, providing for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. The quota, however, did not apply to the 2024 general election.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also accused the government of making a “dishonest pitch” on women’s reservation and delimitation. He alleged that the legislation had been framed in a manner that delayed its implementation and prevented it from taking effect in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Ramesh further credited the Congress and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi with laying the foundations for women’s political representation through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.

Opposition criticism of Modi’s address also centred on an apparent stumble while he was speaking about the growth of India’s bioeconomy since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014. A widely circulated video showed the Prime Minister briefly consulting his notes before continuing.

Congress leader Pawan Khera shared the clip with the comment, “Superhuman without teleprompter (Mahamanav bina teleprompter ke).”

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also posted the video, describing Modi as an “under-confident, nervous and shaky Prime Minister”.

The 75-minute address was Modi’s shortest Independence Day speech in four years. It covered subjects including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, Maoist violence, MSMEs, higher education and coaching institutions.

The Congress also objected to Modi’s reference to “dimaagi Naxals”, or ideological Naxals. The Prime Minister said armed Maoist violence was “breathing its last”, but claimed that an ideological Naxal mindset continued to operate within certain institutions. He called for such elements to be identified and isolated, alleging that they could lead young people towards anarchy.

Ramesh described the expression as another political label aimed at the government’s critics and compared it with the BJP’s earlier use of “urban Naxal”. He said the union Home minister had previously told Parliament that the term “urban Naxal” had no official definition.

The Congress leader also accused the government of initially attacking demands raised by its opponents and later adopting them. He cited the caste census, claiming Modi had once dismissed the proposal as “urban Naxal” thinking before announcing a caste-based enumeration.

Yadav, meanwhile, attacked the BJP over its observance of Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, alleging that the party treated Partition as a “cause for celebration”.

He accused the BJP and organisations associated with the Sangh of having contributed to Partition and urged people to remain vigilant against their politics. The country’s democratic strength, he said, depended on protecting and reinforcing the Constitution.

The SP chief also questioned the BJP’s association with the national flag, alleging that organisations ideologically aligned with it had historically failed to respect or hoist the tricolour.

“Their nationalism is monochromatic, whereas ours is multi-coloured. We believe in taking everyone along,” Yadav said, suggesting that the BJP should undertake a “tricolour in every mind” campaign to demonstrate its commitment to inclusive nationalism.

Turning to the economy, Yadav argued that the distribution of free foodgrain to crores of families contradicted official claims about rising per capita income. He also raised concerns over inflation, fuel prices, adulteration and what he described as the adverse economic consequences of the government’s foreign policy.

Yadav further alleged that India’s education system was deteriorating, claiming that 26,000 primary schools had closed in Uttar Pradesh and nearly one lakh across the country. Developed nations continued to prioritise education and healthcare, he said, while access to schools, treatment and medicines was weakening in India.

With agency inputs