News Analysis India

Tag: population control law

  • Law on population control will be brought ‘at right time’ in UP, says CM Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The state government will bring a law for population control “at the right time”, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday.

    The government had in July unveiled a policy aimed at stabilising the population in Uttar Pradesh and reducing maternal and infant deaths in a time-bound manner, with Adityanath terming rising population a “hurdle in development”.

    “Everything is done at an appropriate time. The media earlier used to question the BJP on when it would announce a date for the Ram temple’s construction, but the prime minister (Narendra Modi), despite the COVID-19 pandemic, laid the foundation stone of the temple in Ayodhya on August 5 last year, and all need to be happy now,” Adityanath said at a conclave.

    “Similarly, Article 370 was also scrapped by the prime minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said.

    On August 5, 2019, the Centre had abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

    At the ‘News 24’ conclave, when asked about his recent ‘abba jaan’ remark, the chief minister said,”They (opposition) want the vote of Muslims but are getting irritated with ‘abba jaan’.”

    In Kushinagar, Adityanath, in an apparent attack against the Samajwadi Party had said people who say “abba jaan” used to digest all the ration earlier. On the population law for Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said, “Everything has a right time and has to be done at the right place.”

    “When the population law is brought, it will be done with fanfare, in the knowledge of the media as we do not believe in doing anything silently,” Adityanath said.

    In July, a draft bill on population control was put up on the website of the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission, inviting suggestions from the public till the 19th of the month.

    It states that people having more than two children in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.

    The draft bill also seeks to prohibit promotions in government jobs for such people, while offering incentives to those limiting their children to two.

    The law commission is said to have handed over the draft bill to the government.

    On Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav’s tweet claiming that a record number of riots have taken place in the state, Adityanath said, “The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that there have been zero communal riots in Uttar Pradesh.”

    They (opposition) are not depending on their intelligence, but depending on Twitter, he said.

    Asked about Yadav’s assertions that he is inaugurating works done during the SP government, the chief minister said, “The situation that had emerged in 2017 of the pair (Congress and SP alliance for the elections) coming together, it is their nature to humiliate the state.”

    “The BJP is forming the next government with over 350 seats in the coming assembly elections,” he said. To a question on whether he would be chief minister again, Adityanath said, “If you say so I accept it. Thanks for your good wishes.”

    Polls for 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly are due next year.

    The BJP had won 312 seats last time.

  • Nitish reaffirms educating women is more effective means to check population growth than law

    By PTI
    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday stuck to his views that educating women and not law is the best remedy to check population growth and pooh-poohed Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for asking the BJP to withdraw support to his government for “opposing” the Uttar Pradesh governments proposed ‘Population Control Bill’.

    The JD(U) top leader’s remarks on population surge last week had triggered debate among the political parties with many BJP leaders of Bihar differing with him and supporting the legislation route mooted by Yogi Adityanath government in the neighbouring state to tame rapid population rise.

    Interacting with media persons after his weekly “Jananta Ke Darbar me Mukhya Mantri” programme here, the Bihar chief minister iterated that the new farm laws that had triggered protest by farmers were beneficial for the cultivators and opined that the agiators should further engage with the union government to sort out the issue.

    Kumar, who himsef had served as Agriculture mininister in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said similar agriculture reforms in Bihar in the past have yielded good results.

    “I don’t take Shiv Sena seriously. I don’t even care what they say about me. I don’t know what he (Raut) has said. He does not have the political acumen”, he told reporters.

    While referring to his decision to handover the actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide case to the CBI, Kumar said, “People have not forgotten what Shiv Sena leaders were saying when we had handed-over the case to the premier investigating agency.

    “Therefore, I dont pay heed to what Shiv Sena leaders say. I once again say that its not possible to ensure population control with a law,” he said, adding educating women is more important.

    Everyone will benefit if women are educated.

    Bihar’s fertility rate is reducing now.

    He made the remark here in reply to questions from journalists who sought his views on Rauts comment.

    In his weekly column in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut welcomed the Uttar Pradesh governments proposed draft bill on population control and said the BJP should withdraw support of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar if the JD(U) leader opposes this legislation.

    The chief minister highlighted how progagating education among women helped in bringing down total fertility rate in Bihar from around 4 to 3 now to drive home his point.

    Different surveys in Bihar and other parts of the country have brought the fact that if among wife and husband, the former is matriculate the total fertility rate is 2.

    Similarly if wife has studied till plus two level the TFR is 1.7, he said in support of his remarks.

    “Considerting this, our government decided to open plus two level schools in every panchayats,” Kumar added.

    When asked about his comment on farmers ongoing protest against the centre’s three new agriculture laws in the national capital, Kumar said, “The issue should be resolved through dialogue. The central government has already held several rounds of talks with farmer leaders. I hope that it will be resolved cery soon”.

    As far as Bihar is concerned, farmers are very happy as the agricultural productivity has increased in the state, he added.

    In 2006, Bihar was the first state in the country to abolish the APMC Act which facilitated private companies to directly purchase from farmers.

    Kumar said its right of citizens to hold protest in favour of a demand, but large-scale congregation of farmers at Delhi border when COVID pandemic is raging in the country can’t be appreciated.

    Responding to a question on rising prices of petrol and diesel in the country and why don’t the states and political parties think over reducing taxes to check such hikes, Kumar said, “Its true that fuel prices are pinching consumers.

    We will find a way out by talking amongst ourselves.

    “We will explore the option of reducing taxes on petrol and diesel in Bihar”.

    Patna has already joined the list of state capitals where the petrol price has crossed the Rs 100-mark.

    The CM was also asked about his comments on alleged phone-tapping of prominent personalities in the country using Israeli Pegasus spyware on which he said, “This is wrong and I have always maintained that there are advantages and disadvantages of the newer technology”.

    The chief minister met over 106 complainants at the public interaction program and solved many a grievances on the spot.

    The CM looked into the complaints regarding general administration, rural development, panchayati raj, road construction, agriculture and tourism departments and directed concerned senior officials to help the complainants.

  • Sanjay Gandhi’s family planning program led to anger, electoral defeat: Congress MP

    By PTI
    INDORE: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha on Saturday said the family planning program promoted by Sanjay Gandhi during Emergency led to anger among people, and cost his party an election.

    He himself was in favor of population control but it should not be politicized, Tankha said, referring to a proposed population control law in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

    “You may remember that Sanjay Gandhi had come up with a population control program during Emergency. This was a good program. But the timing and the way it was implemented was not right, because the common people were forced (to undergo sterilization), which made them angry.”

    “Subsequently, this was also one of the reasons for the defeat of the Congress in the elections,” Tankha told reporters during an interaction at the Indore Press Club.

    The Indira Gandhi-led Congress was defeated comprehensively in the 1977 general elections which followed the Emergency.

    Talking about the proposed UP law, Tankha said an important issue was being associated with vote-bank politics.

    “This should not be linked with politics because this issue is related to the entire country,” he said.

    As a patriotic citizen he favours adoption of population control measures as no political party is bigger than the country, the Congress leader said.

    “If we don’t control (population growth), then we continue to add population the size of Australia every year. Then the country will remain poor, no matter how much tax is collected and development takes place,” he said.

    On sedition law, Tankha, who is a Supreme Court lawyer, said it was enacted in British era and its continuous misuse turned it into a travesty.

    On speculation that former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath could be made Congress president, Tankha said the decision is to be taken by the party’s leadership.

    “If there is any senior-most and experienced leader in the Congress who has abundance of resources, it is Kamal Nath,” he added.

    Terming the election commission a “puppet” of the Centre, Tankha said undue interference in the functioning of government institutions has increased to such an extent that it seems that agencies such as the Central Vigilance Commission, CBI and Enforcement Directorate are extended wings of the BJP.

    Describing himself as the “only MP” belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community, Tankha said, “A lasting solution to the Kashmir problem can be found only when displaced Kashmiri Pandits are resettled in the Valley with assurance of safety.”

  • UP’s proposed population control measures attempt to keep communal agenda alive: Jairam Ramesh

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposed population control measures, claiming it is nothing but BJP’s attempt to polarise society and keep the communal agenda alive during the assembly polls.

    He alleged that the BJP is best at hiding its failures and raising non-issues ahead of every election.

    The former union minister also raised concerns on population control measures in the country and said India will have to prepare for an ageing population and not a growing population by 2031.

    “This is nothing but BJPs attempt to polarise society and keep the communal agenda alive during UP assembly polls.”

    “This is yet another attempt to whip up communal passions and prejudices,” Ramesh told PTI.

    He said the Modi Government’s own Economic Survey for the year 2018-19 comprehensively challenges and debunks the assumptions and motivations behind bills on population control measures.

    Incidentally, there have been 28 such bills since 2000, he noted.

    Several BJP MPs propose to bring private member bills on population control in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

    The senior Congress leader said India’s total fertility rate has fallen very dramatically even without the type of measures being proposed in the bills.

    Ramesh also shared a thread on the population control debate on Twitter, raising concerns over India’s ageing population.

    He said some states have already gone below the replacement level of 2.1 fertility rates.

    “The crucial tipping point in demography is when replacement level of fertility reaches 2.1. Subsequently, after a generation or two, the population will stabilise or begin to decline. Kerala was first in 1988, followed by Tamil Nadu five years later.”

    “By now, a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility. By 2026, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh will also do so with Bihar being the last by 2030,” he said.

    “I wonder how many in the BJP are aware of the basic facts that Modi Sarkar’s own 2018-19 Economic Survey had presented in Parliament in July 2019,” he said, sharing the survey in a tweet.

    “The graph shows India is set to witness a sharp slowdown in population growth in the next two decades,” he said sharing the image where total fertility rates of states were falling below the replacement level fertility of 2.1.”

    “By Modi Sarkar’s own estimate in the Economic Survey 2018-19, some states in India will have to prepare for an ageing population by 2031, not growing population.”

    “This will be driven by existing policies to empower women, family planning programmes and socio-economic changes,” he said.

    He noted that all this will become clear when one reads Volume 1 Chapter 7 of the 2018-19 Economic Survey and shared a copy of the same on Twitter.

    The comments came days after Uttar Pradesh, where assembly polls are due next year, made public its draft population control bill and the Assam government proposed a policy on population control.

    The Uttar Pradesh draft population bill contains provisions that seek to debar people having more than two children from the benefits of government schemes and proposes perks to those who follow the two-child policy.

  • BJP MLA seeks population control law in MP, minister says no proposal as of now

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Amid demand by a ruling BJP legislator to enact a population control law in Madhya Pradesh, a senior minister on Tuesday said no such proposal is under consideration of the state government “as of now”.

    BJP MLA from Bhopal Huzur Rameshwar Sharma on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking enactment of a law to control the rising population in the state.

    Sharma’s demand has come in the backdrop of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh announcing a new population policy.

    Asked about the letter seeking a population control law, Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is also state government’s spokesman, said, “No such proposal is under consideration of the government as of now.”

    In the letter, Sharma, a former protem speaker, said, “It is estimated that the population of Madhya Pradesh has now grown to 8.75 crore, adding around 1.5 crore people in the last one decade. This population is more than several European countries, which have much more resources than Madhya Pradesh.”

    Sharma said a population control law will ensure all-round development, good governance and security of the state.

    On the other hand, Congress MLA from Bhopal Central Arif Masood alleged this demand is being made to further the RSS agenda.

    Though mooted in the name of a minority community, Dalits and tribals living in villages are the actual target of such a policy as they have more children, he said.

    This has nothing to do with development, he added.

    On July 11, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the Uttar Pradesh Population Policy 2021-2030 aiming at bringing down the gross fertility rate among women by 2030.

    A draft bill on UP population control policy says people having more than two children in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.

    It also seeks to prohibit promotions in government jobs for such people, while offering incentives to those limiting their children to two.

  • BJP to introduce private members’ bills on population control, uniform civil code in Monsoon session

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP MPs will introduce private members’ bills on population control and uniform civil code in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, according to information from the secretariats of both Houses.

    The private members’ bill on population control comes close on the heels of the law commission of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country, putting up a draft bill on the issue on its website, inviting suggestions from the public till July 19.

    BJP Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh Ravi Kishan and Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Kirori Lal Meena are scheduled to introduce the private members’ bills on population control and uniform civil code respectively in the very first week of the Parliament session which is starting from July 19.

    A bill introduced by a member other than a minister is known as a private member’s bill and there is little possibility of it becoming a law without the government’s support.

    The proposed legislations on population control and uniform civil code, issues that usually trigger heated polemics in the country, are in line with the BJP’s ideological agenda.

    Opposition parties have criticised the BJP’s moves in this regard, claiming that they are aimed at targeting one specific community, while the BJP has accused them of pursuing appeasement politics.

    According to the details available with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats, Kishan and Meena will get an opportunity to introduce their respective private members’ bills on July 24, which was decided through the lottery system.

    A notice for a similar bill on population control has also been given by BJP MP in Rajya Sabha Rakesh Sinha.

    The proposed legislations on population control emphasise on deincentivising couples having more than two children, by making them ineligible for government jobs and subsidies on various facilities and goods given by the government.

    The draft UP population control bill says people having more than two children will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.

    Similar legislation is under discussion in another BJP-ruled state Assam.

    Meanwhile, Vishva Hindu Parishad, a member of the ruling BJP’s ideological family, has objected to the one-child policy norm of the draft population control bill in UP, saying it is likely to further increase the imbalance between different communities and contract the population as well.

    “The preamble of the bill states that this is a bill, inter alia, to stabilise the population and promote the two-child norm. The Vishva Hindu Parishad agrees with both objects,” the organisation’s working president, Alok Kumar, said in a letter to the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission (UPSCL) on Monday.

    However, Sections 5, 6(2) and 7 of the bill, which incentivise public servants and others to have only one child in the family, go “well beyond the said objects”, he said.

    Asked about the bill he intends to introduce, Sinha said population growth has been ringing an “alarm bell” for the country and asserted that a central law is “most required” as it will be applicable across the nation.

    The unchecked population growth needs to be regulated, he said.

    Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a critical intervention in the debate over the issue during his speech on August 15, Sinha said that Modi had called for a balance between resources and population.

    The discourse over the issue should not be seen through caste and religious angles, Sinha said.

    According to PRS Legislative, no private members’ bills have been passed by Parliament since 1970.

    A total of 14 such bills have received Parliament’s nod.

  • RSS ideologue Indresh Kumar calls for population control law

    By ANI
    RANCHI: The growing population is a challenge for India and the world and there is a need to control the population irrespective of religions, said Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Indresh Kumar on Sunday.

    Speaking at a programme in Jharkhand’s capital, Kumar said, “the resources that the environment gave on this earth are limited to what they were before, but the population has increased manifold.”

    “Currently India has 16.5 per cent of the global population but has only 3.5 per cent land. India has lesser landmass and more population,” he said.

    Citing the example of scarcity of jobs in the country, Kumar said, “the number of jobs is same as they were before, but due to increase in population there is a scarcity of employment now.”

    He said not only the government but the total political system and parties should take cognizance of the population control.

    He added that Indira Gandhi’s government which had a complete majority tried to bring the law of ‘two-child policy’ which was also supported by the opposition, “due to their vote bank policies, they failed to implement it.”