Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘Saas-Bahu’ Swipe At Smriti Irani In Parliament, She Says ‘Watch Fewer Serials’

Last Updated:April 17, 2026, 12:20 AM IST

Mocking BJP leader Smriti Irani’s famous stint as Tulsi Virani in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said “saas-bahu wali toh haar gayi”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (L) mocked BJP leader Smriti Irani’s (R) television background during a special session of the Lok Sabha in Parliament on April 16, 2026. (Image: PTI/File)

In a heated session of Parliament on the women’s reservation and delimitation bills, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday took a swipe at BJP leader Smriti Irani’s television background.

Mocking Irani’s famous stint as Tulsi Virani in the soap Because mother-in-law is always a daughter-in-lawYadav said “saas-bahu wali toh haar gayi (the saas-bahu actor lost)”.

This was an apparent jab at the television tropes associated with Irani’s former acting career but the former Union minister delivered a stinging reply. Advising Yadav that he should “watch fewer serials”, she said he should focus instead on the gravity of parliamentary proceedings.

Taking to social media to further her point, she defended the dignity of self-made working women. She contrasted those who “make a mark on their own” with those who have “inherited politics”, saying individuals who have never held a professional job are ill-equipped to comment on the lives of working women.

During the debate in Parliament, Yadav launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP. He accused the Centre of treating gender equality as a mere political “slogan” (nara) rather than a sincere mission to empower the women (nari) of India.

While affirming that his party has traditionally supported the cause of women-led development and social justice, he characterised the current legislative push as a product of “BJP tactics” and “trickery”. He criticised the absence of specific provisions for marginalised groups within the proposed law.

The SP MP demanded that the legislation include dedicated quotas for women from other backward classes (OBC) and Muslim communities to ensure true inclusivity. Without these sub-quotas, the bill fails to address the underlying social inequities that all socialist leaders have historically sought to rectify, he said.

He challenged the BJP’s commitment to gender representation by questioning the lack of women within their own organisational structures and noting that despite holding power in 21 states and Union territories, it could only point to one female chief minister in Delhi – whom he described as a “half-chief minister” with limited powers.

Yadav further raised serious concerns about the central government’s insistence on a delimitation exercise before the implementation of the reservation. He alleged that this move is a “conspiracy” designed to redraft constituency boundaries for the electoral benefit of the ruling party.

He also said the focus on delimitation is a tactical manoeuvre to delay both the essential national population census and caste census. He urged the government to complete the census process before proceeding with delimitation.

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