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Reacting to the Yogi Adityanath government’s draft population control bill, BSP president Mayawati has said the bill has raised questions about the Uttar Pradesh government’s intentions as people believe it lacks seriousness and has more to do with the ruling BJP’s electoral interests. She said if the BJP government had been serious about the population control, then it would have started working towards it when the government was formed.
The BSP chief’s reaction comes in the wake of the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission (UPSLC) posting the draft of the population control bill on its website. “The new bill being brought by the BJP government for population control, more than its merits and demerits, raises doubts over both the policy and intention of the government regarding the seriousness of this national concern. People believe it lacks seriousness and has more to do with electoral interests,” Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.
1. यूपी भाजपा सरकार द्वारा जनसंख्या नियंत्रण हेतु लाया जा रहा नया बिल, इसके गुण-दोष से अधिक इस राष्ट्रीय चिन्ता के प्रति गंभीरता व इसकी टाइमिंग को लेकर सरकार की नीति व नीयत दोनों पर शक व सवाल खड़े कर रहा है, क्योंकि लोगों को इसमें गंभीरता कम व चुनावी स्वार्थ ज्यादा लग रहा है।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) July 13, 2021
2. अगर जनसंख्या नियंत्रण को लेकर यूपी भाजपा सरकार थोड़ी भी गंभीर होती तो यह काम सरकार को तब ही शुरू कर देना चाहिये था जब इनकी सरकार बनी थी और फिर इस बारे में लोगों में जागरूकता पैदा करती तो अब यहाँ विधानसभा चुनाव के समय तक इसके नतीजे भी मिल सकते थे।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) July 13, 2021
“Failing to turn the growing population into the country’s strength and honour by making them more aware and educated, the BJP is now trying to control the population by force and punishing most of the families like the previous Congress government, which is grossly unfair in the eyes of the public,” she added. According to the draft bill, people having more than two children in the state will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.
3. यूपी व देश की जनसंख्या को जागरूक, शिक्षित व रोजगार-युक्त बनाकर उसे देश की शक्ति व सम्मान में बदलने में विफलता के कारण भाजपा अब कांग्रेस की पूर्ववर्ती सरकार की तरह ही जोर-जबरदस्ती व अधिकतर परिवारों को दण्डित करके जनसंख्या पर नियंत्रण करना चाहती है जो जनता की नजर में घोर अनुचित।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) July 13, 2021
It is not only rivals of BJP who are wary, Bihar Minister Nitish Kumar earlier had made his disagreement clear over the laws being considered by a few Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states to control population. Assam and Uttar Pradesh have proposed draft bill on population control triggering sharp reactions from the Opposition. Nitish Kumar’s Janta Dal-United (JD-U) is an ally of the BJP in Bihar and at the Centre.
When asked about his views on the draft bill, Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna,”It’s not possible to ensure population control with a law.”
“I believe it is not possible (to control population with a law)…take China or any other country’s example,” the chief minister added. Nitish Kumar emphasized that educating women was more important. “Everyone will benefit if women are educated. Bihar’s fertility rate is reducing now,” he said.
