Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has said that no exemption should be given to people having more than two children and even such MPs/MLAs should be disqualified from contesting elections.
Pawar said at a function in Baramati on Sunday that India has left behind China in terms of population growth.
Pawar, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, said, “My grandfather used to tell me that when we got independence, our population was 35 crore and now it has reached 142 crore. We all are responsible for this.”
Pawar said that two days ago he had emphasized in an interview that all political parties should take this matter seriously.
“Every person should stop after one or two children for the betterment of our country, state, district and region,” he said.
Pawar said that henceforth no relaxation should be given to those who have more than two children.
“When Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister, we were horrified when it was decided that candidates with three children would be ineligible to contest local body elections of gram panchayat, zilla parishad and taluka panchayat,” he said.
Pawar said, “People ask why a similar decision was not taken in respect of MPs and MLAs. I tell them that it is not in our hands. It is in the hands of the Center and we demand that the Center should do so.”
The NCP leader said if people are not given any relaxation, they will become more aware about the issue.