A BJP MLA from Rajasthan’s Hawa Mahal, Balmukund Acharya, said in a recent remark that those with ‘4 wives and 36 children’ will have to adhere to the uniform population policy.
In a video that has gone viral on social media platforms, he is heard saying that some sections of society do not care about the population control law.
Without taking any names, he said, “There is a huge problem with the increasing population. A particular community has ‘char begum aur chhatis bacche’. There are countless such cases. This is wrong. There should be equal laws for everyone, otherwise how will the country move forward,” the BJP MLA was heard saying in a video that surfaced on Monday.
Talking to reporters in the state assembly building on Tuesday, the BJP MLA insisted that the population control law was a necessity.
“There is nothing wrong in the population law. The way the population is increasing, there is a need for more food and housing. This (population) is a hurdle in growth. If we want to become a prosperous and developed country, there should be collective agreement on this, and population control law should be made, it will be beneficial for all,” he said.
He is not the only one rooting for a uniform population policy. Last week, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Singh said that a certain ‘category’ of people is not taking the policy seriously.
“This campaign is different, everyone should be involved in it, but we see no change in one category. Despite the increasing population pressure, there is no improvement in it. We need to make such people aware that if the population grows in the future many problems will increase,” the CM had said.
Congress reacts
Reacting to the comments, Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma on Tuesday said the intention of the BJP government in the state is only to target a particular community instead of having a population concern.
He said the Congress would welcome a population control law but the BJP’s motive was just to target a community.
“A particular community is being targeted. If population law is to be brought, Congress would support it but the BJP intends to target the Muslim community instead of bringing the law,” he told reporters.
“The BJP government talks from a political point of view and from the point of view of targeting a particular community,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
