Population policy row: BJP accuses Nitish Kumar of double standards

The ongoing debate over the population control policy took an ugly turn when BJP Member of Legislative Council and former union minister Sanjay Paswan accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of double standards, writes ETV Bharat Bihar Bureau Chief Amit Bhelari.

Patna: The ongoing debate over the population control policy took an ugly turn on Wednesday when BJP Member of Legislative Council and former union minister Sanjay Paswan accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of double standards. Paswan while speaking to the ETV Bharat stressed that why Nitish Kumar did not think about making awareness before implementing the law on prohibition.

The BJP leaders from top to bottom have been advocating in the support of making a law to control the population on the patter of Yogi Adityanaths' government. Two union ministers Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai have already issued their statement in support of the population control bill apart from several other BJP ministers but the Chief Minister of Bihar has completely rejected the idea of making any laws. However, Paswan hit back at Nitish and even suggested speaking to UP CM Yogi Adityanath so that a good population control policy could be formulated in Bihar as well.

"He talks about law and regulation over the prohibition in the state but no law to stabilize the population in the state. He must not oppose this move. His stand that population can be controlled through literacy and awareness, why he did not make any awareness before implementing prohibition in the state. The honourable court and police officials are unnecessarily occupied in prohibition. If people always follow the laws why can't Nitish Ji make laws to control the population. I think it is completely a double standard theory," Paswan told ETV Bharat over the phone on the way to Bhagalpur.

"Nitish Ji should contact UP CM and must take initiative to formulate the law to control the population. In fact, we will table the proposal of population control policy in the upcoming monsoon session of the Bihar legislature", Paswan said. Earlier, Nitish Kumar had asserted that if women would be educated then the fertility rate would fall automatically and the population cannot be controlled by just making the laws.

According to UP Population Policy 2021-2030, public servants will get many government benefits whereas those, not the following policy have to face many hurdles including ration cards getting suspended.

Patna based political expert Dr Sanjay Kumar echoed the same and stressed that there is a need to bring a law on the national level and without law, the population cannot be controlled. "There is a need to make policy at the national level. We should not look at the issue state-wise because states formulate the law that suits them politically. The population is the problem of the entire nation and directly linked to livelihood, employment, health, and literacy.

We have seen that BJP has brought several bills in the parliament followed by debates. So What has stopped BJP to do the same on the population control policy. Why has the Centre left the issue to the state? Awareness is fine but until and unless the law is not made, people will give a miss to it. There has to be a fear of law," Dr Sanjay said

He further said, "Despite India standing on 5th position in GDP but on per capita income we are on 144th position. Similarly in the Human Development Index, we are in the 129th position. It is all because of the increasing population. If article 14 of the Indian constitution provides us equality before the law it also allows the state for intelligible differentia. Based on the assumption Nitish Ji said that the fertility rate will start decreasing by 2040. It is just an assumption, what if it will increase so awareness is not the right way and there is a need for a law to control the population."

Dr Sanjay also stressed that more than the state, the centre must bring the bill on population control at the national level. If the bill can be made on agriculture why not on population?