Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday questioned as to why people should not aim to have 16 children just like the Tamil adage on having 16 different types of wealth.
Stalin's comment on having more children comes soon after his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu urged couples to have more kids in view of the ageing population.
Addressing a mass wedding organised for 31 couples at the Marundheeshwarar temple wedding hall in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, Stalin said in Tamil there is an old adage where the newly weds are blessed saying they should have 16 different types of wealth. The wedding was held on behalf of the temples of the Hindu Religious Charities Department.
"In the past, while congratulating newlyweds, people wished them that they should have 16 types of wealth. Infact, the couples were blessed to live a prosperous life, which represents 16 types of wealth in different fields," he said.
Taking an apparent dig at delimitation, Stalin said, "When today, the parliamentary constituencies are decreased on the basis of lower population growth why should we restrict to having fewer children? Why should we not aim to have 16 children?" He also urged parents of the southern state to decide Tamil names for their kids.
It may be mentioned here that the CM had earlier alleged that a conspiracy was on to reduce the Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on the pretext of delimitation.
There are currently 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry and in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the INDIA bloc, comprising the ruling DMK and the Congress swept the polls.
Earlier on Saturday, Naidu had said that the government is planning to provide incentives to families for population management. A law will be brought to allow only those having more than two kids to contest local body polls, he added.
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