Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday, November 2 said he agrees with Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh chief ministers MK Stalin and N Chandrababu Naidu about the need for South Indians to have more children.
“Chandrababu Naidu and Stalin asked people in Southern states to have more kids. If I had said the same thing, there would be breaking news “Owaisi calls for Population Jihad” When Naidu has said it he would have said it for some reason,” said the AIMIM president.
He said that the AP chief minister is aware that the population in South India has reduced adding that the southern states have witnessed a sharp decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR). “If the delimitation will be done based on population, then South Indian states will be adversely affected. There will be reduced assembly and Parliamentary seats in South India. In this context, is it wrong to call for increased population?” he asked.
“South Indians would say instead of being rewarded for reducing the population, the constituency and Parliamentary seats are being decreased,” he added.
Owaisi went on to say that there is a need to understand the limited power of South Indian states in national politics. “If the seats are further reduced to accommodate more seats for states with more population, how is it justified?” the Hyderabad MP asked.
He reiterated that the Tamil Nadu and AP chief ministers have rightly called for having more kids. The AIMIM chief expressed dismay over how the media would perceived the same statement differently if he had said it.
It is to be noted that AP chief minister Chandra Babu Naidu said that the state government is planning to implement “population management”, including considering new legislation to incentivise families with more kids. “The state government is thinking of bringing a law that would make only those with more than two children eligible to contest local body elections,” Naidu said.
Speaking of the total fertility rate, the chief minister said the fertility rate in southern states has already dropped to 1.6, well below the national average of 2.1. “If it declines any further, we will see a higher number of elderly people by 2047, which is not desirable. In many villages across Andhra and other parts of the country, only elderly people remain. The younger population has moved to cities,” he said.
Naidu acknowledged his earlier stand on population control.
Similarly, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said, “As there is a scenario of decreasing Lok Sabha constituencies, it raises the question: why should we restrict ourselves to having fewer children? Why shouldn’t we aim for 16 children?” Stalin added.
This comes after Naidu’s announcement that the Andhra Pradesh government is planning to incentivize families with more children due to an ageing population. He also urged residents of South Indian states to consider having more children.
These statements are in response to reports that the BJP-led Union government is considering a realignment of constituencies based on population.
