Day after Nitish remarks, Bihar BJP chief seeks one-child norm

A day after JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that education instead of legislation can help control population, Bihar BJP president and West Champaran MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal Tuesday said the Bihar government should follow a ‘one-child norm’ similar to the one being considered by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “Education and awareness can go alongside.”

Meanwhile, BJP MLA and Bihar Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Choudhary has also said the Bihar government was considering a ban on candidates with more than two children for the upcoming panchayat polls. “We already have such rules for civic bodies. We are discussing it for panchayat polls,” Choudhary told the media in Patna on Tuesday.

Dr Jaiswal said if the Bihar CM could implement two-child norms in 2007 for those willing to contest municipal polls, he should consider encouraging a “positive regulation like one-child norm”.

The BJP MP told The Indian Express, “I appreciate UP CM Yogi Adityanath for having a policy that encourages families adhering to one-child norm. Such positive regulation can help a great deal in curbing population…there is no need for a national legislation on population control as 24 states have already achieved population stabilisation. States like Bihar and UP need effective and workable legislation.”