LUCKNOW, April 16 -- Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday backed reserving one-third of seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies but opposed the BJP government's push to implement the amendment to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, without conducting a fresh caste-based census. Yadav alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was orchestrating a 'massive conspiracy' to sidestep updated caste data that would secure backward classes' political representation.

His stand comes ahead of a special three-day Parliament session starting Thursday, where the government plans to move amendments to operationalise the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed in September 2023, possibly delinking implementation from the next Censu...