UP Population Bill draft proposed by Yogi Adityanath proposes “No Government jobs, subsidy if more than two children”

A lot is being said about the new UP Population bill draft submitted by the Yogi Government. The internet has gone crazy commenting and listing out the pros and cons of the bill. Twitter is filled with people making their opinion and most of them voicing against the very draft submitted to the commission.

Anybody violating the two-child policy in the state will be barred from applying for and getting promotions in government jobs, from contesting local bodies’ polls, and receiving any sort of government subsidy. Apart from the stringent measure, there are some of the proposals being mentioned under the draft titled The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization, and Welfare) Bill, 2021.

The UP State Law Commission (UPSLC) website says, “The State Law Commission, UP is working on control, stabilization, and welfare of the population of the state and has prepared a draft bill.” As the draft has been uploaded online, public opinion has been sought as well but the deadline for the same is till 19th July.

The public servants who sign up with the two-child policy will be given benefits such as “Public servants will get two additional increments during the entire service, maternity or as the case may be, paternity leave of 12 months, with full salary and allowances and three percent increase in the employer’s contribution fund under national pension scheme”, the draft reads. Moving further, listing out the government’s responsibilities, the draft bill says that maternity centers will be set up at every health center.

It will be the responsibility of NGOs and Centers to make sure that they distribute contraceptive pills, condoms, and spread awareness about family planning among the people. They will also make sure to keep a record of pregnancies, deliveries, births, and deaths within the state. Yet, another responsibility of the government will be to introduce a compulsory subject related to population control in all secondary schools.

Furthermore, the draft bill emphasizes the very need for this policy in the state by stating that it is important to control and stabilize the population of the state to promote sustainable development with more equitable distribution.

As soon as the talks were out about the draft bill, the opposition took a stir on the UP government naming it a “political agenda”. UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh in a Hindi tweet said, “The RSS and BJP leaders talk about increasing the population. Population control is a subject of the Centre. Yogi Adityanath (CM) is bringing the bill keeping in mind the UP Assembly elections.”

Another rival party in the state hits out at Yogi Government’s policy by calling it immature. Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha said, “Bringing this bill means the murder of democracy. This is an immature decision on the part of the Uttar Pradesh government.”