Patna, July 13: Political leaders of Bihar are divided over the population control policy brought about by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. There are different views and opinions among the allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with regard to the new policy in Bihar.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, while expressing his views on population control, said on Monday that population control cannot be achieved only by enacting a law unless women are educated and made aware about it.
“Introducing legislation for population control is not going to be of much help. For this it is necessary to educate and make women aware,” he said.
However, he also said that, “different states have different views on the issue. Do whatever you want, but our opinion is that just making laws will not control the population. We are thinking on how to work with all the communities.”
However, JDU leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha has supported the population control policy envisaged by the Uttar Pradesh government. Kushwaha said, “With the passage of time the need for such a law has increased in Bihar too, because the way the population is increasing, its effect will be seen on development of the state. The Bihar government also needs to implement this law.”
On the other hand, Bihar deputy chief minister Renu Devi’s views seem to be different from those of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Renu Devi says, “For population control, there is a need to make men more aware than women because there is a lot of fear among men about sterilization.”
The Congress has also jumped into the debate. Rajesh Rathod, chairman of the party’s media department, said, “The Congress has been running awareness campaigns for population control. Chief minister Nitish Kumar talks about awareness on the issue, which we welcome.”
Rathod, however, also asked whether it was a personal statement of Nitish Kumar or the statement of the JD(U), as the statement of Kushwaha does not match with that of the chief minister on this matter.
He said the JD(U) should first speak in one voice in his own party and then the chief minister should clarify on the situation by creating consensus among the NDA parties.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath released ‘Population Policy Uttar Pradesh 2021-30’ on World Population Day. Since then there has been a debate over population control in the country. (IANS)
