The Hindu : Centre to elicit views on statute amendment bill

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 13, 2003

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Centre to elicit views on statute amendment bill

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI APRIL 12. The Government will soon initiate talks with political parties to ascertain their views on the 79th Constitution Amendment Bill, which calls for debarring MPs and MLAs with more than two living children from contesting elections from the date the Bill is passed. The Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha since 1992.

The move is seen as an attempt by the Government to test the waters, as it were, on an issue which has been put on the back-burner following vehement opposition by women's groups on the ground that it will affect women most, as a majority of them are not the decision-makers on the size of the family.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Sushma Swaraj, said the Centre favoured the two-child norm, which was in consonance with the stated policy of the Government for achieving a couple replacement level of TFR (Total Fertility Rate) 2.1 by 2010 and population stabilisation by 2045.

"But there have been disagreements on the Bill. During the formulation of the National Population Policy, there was no consensus on incentives and disincentives although there was agreement on the target-free approach.''

If political parties are willing, she would bring the Bill in this session of Parliament itself. On the opposition from women's groups, she said it was for the political parties to build a consensus with their constituents. But she was open to meeting any group or people on the subject.

'No difference with States'

In a departure from the earlier stance of her predecessors, Ms. Swaraj said she had no difference with State Governments coming up with their own policies that do not conform to the national policy. Several States, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Goa, have evolved their own policies calling for stringent measures to control population. In Madhya Pradesh, there has been a case of a woman sarpanch being removed from her post after giving birth to a third child. In some other States, a couple with a third child was deprived of official facilities for the third child. However, none of the States have so far debarred members of the legislative assembly from contesting elections or holding officials posts after having a third child. Ms. Swaraj's immediate predecessor, Shatrughan Sinha, had stated that the Centre would hold back family welfare funds to States, which deviated from the national policy.

Ms. Swaraj said 11 States were in a position to achieve a TFR of 2.1 by 2010 and 12 States and Union Territories had a TFR of 3. Eight smaller States had a TFR of more than 3, but they were not in a position to influence the population growth in a big way.

Ms. Swaraj categorically said that injectable contraceptives would not be brought into the family welfare system unless it was established beyond doubt that there were no side effects.

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