Maya now questions timing of population control bill
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said that the recently drafted Population Control Bill had raised questions about the UP government’s intentions as people believed that it lacked seriousness and had more to do with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s future electoral interests.
She said if the BJP government had been serious about population control, it would have started working towards it soon after its government was formed. The BSP chief’s reaction comes in the wake of the UP State Law Commission posting the draft of the Population Control Bill on its website.
Mayawati tweeted on Tuesday, “The new bill being brought by the UP BJP government for population control, more than its merits and demerits, is raising doubts and questions on both the policy and intention of the government regarding the seriousness of this national concern and its timing, because people see less seriousness and more electoral interest in this.”
The BSP chief added, “If the UP BJP government was a little serious about population control, then it should have started this work only when their government was formed and then created awareness among the people about it. But now it is here at the time of the Assembly elections so that positive electoral results could also be obtained.”
Mayawati further alleged, “Due to the failure to convert the population of the state and the country into power, making them aware, educated and employable, the BJP is now controlling population by force and punishing most of the families like the previous Congress government which is grossly unfair in the eyes of the public”.
According to the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021, 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. The draft bill, for which suggestions have been invited from the public till July 19, also prohibits promotions in government jobs for such people, while offering incentives to those limiting their children to two.
The draft maintains that it is necessary to control and stabilise the population of the state for promotion of sustainable development with more equitable distribution. If enacted, the provisions of the legislation will come into force after one year from the date of publication in the gazette, according to the UP State Law Commission website.
On Monday, Mayawati had also questioned the timing of the arrest of two Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Lucknow on Sunday.
