2-kid norm proposed for Assam jobs

The BJP government in Assam has decided that people with more than two children will be ineligible for government jobs after January 1, 2021.The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting on Monday, with an aim to curb population explosion. A communique from Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's office said those with more than two children would not be considered for government jobs from January 1, 2021.

The Assam government had in 2017 drafted a policy on population growth. With 31,169,272 population in the 2011 census, the state had registered a 16.93 per cent growth in 10 years. Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said legislators must adhere to family planning norms and the state would take up the issue with the central government. "We will propose to the central government to make the two-child norm the yardstick for contesting polls. If a state MLA flouts the family norms, he/she should be disqualified from membership and barred from contesting polls," Sarma said. Recently, several BJP leaders, including Gen V.K. Singh, Sanjeev Balyan, Satyapal Singh and Mahesh Sharma, participated in a march to demand such

a legislation, which shows the BJP is trying to understand whether India is ready for a law on population control or not.In July, BJP Rajya Sabha member and RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha had introduced a private member bill proposing that an elected representative with more than two children should be barred from contesting; besides, there should be denial of financial benefits and reduction of benefits under the Public Distribution System for such people.

A month later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had voiced concern over the population explosion.

"There is one issue I want to highlight today: population explosion. We have to think, can we do justice to the aspirations of our children? There is a need to have greater discussion and awareness on population explosion," Modi had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort.