Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi on Tuesday called for a population control policy in Karnataka on the model of two other states ruled by his party, Assam and Uttar Pradesh, even then that differences on the issue were surfacing between the ruling National Democratic Party. Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar.
“It is high time for Karnataka to adopt a new population policy along the lines of Assam and Uttar Pradesh to control its growing population,” tweeted Ravi, BJP National General Secretary and Karnataka Assembly Member. . “With the limited natural resources available, it will be difficult to meet the needs of every citizen in the event of a population explosion.”
State Justice Minister Basavaraj Bommai said a decision would be made after discussion and deliberation. “We would look at the (population control) bill proposed by Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
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Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday outlined a policy aimed at stabilizing the state’s population. This came days after the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill was published on the Uttar State Law Commission website. Pradesh inviting public suggestions by July 19.
The bill proposes to prohibit people with more than two children from running in local elections, applying for government jobs or receiving grants. It also aims to ban government employees with more than two children from being promoted. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said earlier that large families are likely to lose some state benefits.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid said politicians should declare how many children they have. “I will also declare how many I have and then that should be discussed.”
Shaqfiqur Rahman Barq, a member of parliament from the Samajwadi Party (SP), has called the proposed legislation in Uttar Pradesh “election propaganda” ahead of next year’s elections in the state. PS lawmaker Iqbal Mehmood described it as a “conspiracy” against Muslims.
Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally in Bihar, expressed reservations about the bill. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he believed it was not possible to ensure population control with a law. He insisted that population control can only take place “when women are aware and educated”.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai, from Bihar, said the state government should consider a population control policy as the benefits of social protection measures have not yielded the desired economic results in because of the “demographic explosion”.
Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress have backed Kumar on the issue saying the BJP wants to target minority communities through such a policy.
The Center told the Supreme Court in December 2020 that it was “unequivocally against coercion in family planning” and data showed that “couples, on average, want no more than two children.”
“The family welfare program in India is voluntary in nature, allowing couples to decide on their family size and adopt family planning methods…without any coercion,” he said. said in an affidavit in response to public interest litigation filed by the BJP leader. Ashwini Upadhyaya is seeking to introduce a two-child norm or craft a new law to control births.
According to the National Family Health Survey, the total fertility rate (ISF) is higher among the poor and decreases as income increases. The TFR is the average number of children a woman bears during her lifetime.
The Center affidavit also indicated that the TFR was down. He added that 25 of the 36 states and union territories had met the target GFI of 2.1.
According to UN projections, India’s population will increase by a multiple of 1.09 between 2021 and 2031. This number was 1.25 between 1981 and 1991. From 2060, India’s population will start to decline, this which occurs when the fertility rate falls below replacement levels. By 2100, in line with UN population projections, India’s population will be 1.45 billion after peaking at 1.65 billion in 2059.
With contributions from agencies
