BJP MP applies to remove clauses from Population Regulation Bill 2019

BJP MP Vikas Mahatme on Friday sought the removal of penal clauses from a private member bill on population regulation moved by his party colleague.

During a discussion on The Population Regulation Bill 2019 moved by BJP member Rakesh Sinha in the Rajya Sabha, Mahatme said that the bill will lead to an increase in female foeticide and called for creating awareness among the masses and empowering women to regulate population.

"If we penalise any family after two children, then there is a problem. The child will feel that he is an unwanted child in this country. This is a very dangerous thought for the nation. Therefore, I say we can do something else instead of penalising," he said.

Mahatme said efforts should be made to achieve population control as per the vision of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), which he shared in a summit held in Nairobi, that population control should be on voluntary basis and contraceptives should be made available to everyone, mostly for free, for increasing the gap between two children.

The bill revitalises efforts towards promoting small family norms of up to two children per couple. It also proposes to ensure healthy birth spacing through measures related to augmenting the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality reproductive health services.

It recognises the implications of population momentum on the prospects of national progress in the long run, propelled through its young and dynamic population age-structure.

While moving the bill earlier in the day, Sinha said India has availability of only 1.2-hectare land per person, while the resources which get regenerated automatically is 0.43 only.

"The ecological footprint which we use and the gap between their regeneration is 187 per cent. We are an ecological debtor," he said, adding if this continues for 30 years, then resources would be exhausted and people would not be able to provide a dignified life.

When the world population had crossed 5 billion, then scientists had said it was a warning bell for the Earth, he said.

"But in India, whenever population control is discussed, it is always dragged into the communal angle," said Sinha.

Some people see demographic dividend in the growing population but it is being used as cheap labour globally, he said.

Congress MP Amee Yajnik, during the discussion, questioned the motive of bringing in the population bill and said, "We are talking about not bringing children in this world by this population control bill. Are you going against nature? Are you going against human development? Are you going against the human right of being born?"

"The present governance model has failed and it cannot look after its population and so there should be control on the population. Is this the motive, thrust of the bill? If you have one child or two children you will be able to give better education, better resources, better life. Suppose the bill is passed, who is promising them these facilities," Yajnik asked.

IUML MP Abdul Wahab said the government has to educate the present generation to control the population but it should not be done by force.

He said that if the bill is focussing on Muslim community then provide facilities to underprivileged class and then the population will come under control.

"Give education to unprivileged, uneducated, unemployed people. There will be some other jobs rather than making kids," Wahab said.

He said more facilities should be given to minorities.