Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Balmukundacharya has erupted a controversy after he said “a particular community” has “four begums”, apparently targeting the Muslim community. According to the BJP leader, a population control law is a “necessity.”
“There is a huge problem with the increasing population. There is a particular community which has ‘char begum aur chhatis bacche’. There are countless such cases. This is wrong. There should be equal laws for everyone; otherwise, how will the country move forward?” the BJP MLA said in a video that is making rounds on social media.
Talking about the country’s increasing population, Balmukundacharya said, “There is nothing wrong with the population law. The way the population is increasing, there is a need for more food and housing. This (population) is a hurdle in growth. If we want to become a prosperous and developed country, there should be a collective agreement on this, and a population control law should be made. It will be beneficial for all.”
“A sister came to my office and said she was the third wife of her husband, and now he was going to bring a fourth. I told her that now there is a law against it and she should go to the police. It is not a matter of government or non-government benefits. The point is that in the country, some families say ‘hum do hamare do’, while others say whatever (birth) is happening, let it happen as it is God’s will. There is a need to look into this,” he added, and news agency PTI quoted.
This is the second remark about population control made by a BJP leader in the last week. In another incident, urban development and housing minister Jhabar Singh Kharra said efforts were being made by the central government to ensure that those households that have more than two or three children do not get any benefits from government facilities.
Congress Leader Lashes at the BJP
However, Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma hit out at the BJP leaders’ comments, saying that the ruling party’s intention is “just to target the Muslim community”.
“A particular community is being targeted. If population law is to be brought, Congress would support it, but the BJP’s intention is to target the Muslim community instead of bringing the law…The BJP government talks from a political point of view and from the point of view of targeting a particular community,” he told the media.
