More than half of the elected representatives in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly have more than two children, according to information available...
More than half of the elected representatives in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly have more than two children, according to information available on the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly website analysed by Scroll.in. This includes as many as 50% of the MLAs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
In recent days, BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka have suggested that population control measures must be imposed. Some of these politicians are expected to introduce private members’ bills proposing such a policy in Parliament during the Monsoon session.
The most specific of these proposals so far is the draft put together by the UP law commission titled Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021. It includes a provision to deny government jobs, promotions in government services and government-sponsored welfare schemes to anyone who, after the law is passed, “procreates more than two children”. It would also bar them from standing from local body elections.
An analysis of Uttar Pradesh’s MLAs, based on information from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly website, found that the majority of them currently have more than two children. This includes 10 of the 23 ministers in the state cabinet and half of the ruling party’s MLAs.
Overall, 27% of Uttar Pradesh MLAs have three children, 32% have two children and...
