Population control policy not enough, need to create awareness among minorities: Assam BJP

Amid efforts to introduce a two-child policy in Assam, state BJP General Secretary Dilip Saikia said that just policies would not help in population control, as there is a need to create awareness about the issue among the minority community.

Saikia was referring to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's meeting with 150 intellectuals of the Muslim community in Guwahati on Sunday

Speaking to ANI, Saikia said, "This is a big initiative of the Assam government. Muslims are lagging behind in various areas. This meeting was held with Muslim intellectuals under the leadership of the Chief Minister on all those topics like how to promote their education, their skills, their social life, and how to integrate them into the development process."

The BJP leader said that population explosion is happening all over the country, especially in Assam. He claimed that the population of Muslims is increasing in Assam more than the national average, while that of Hindus is decreasing. In each Constituency Development Block, the Muslim population is increasing in a big way, he said.

Saika blamed the wrong policies of Congress for the issue. "Congress's wrong policies have been there. They saw Muslims as a vote bank, due to which Muslims are getting isolated today. The name of Muslim remains associated with every incident. The Muslim intellectual needs to be united to take up these issues," he said. 

CM Sarma meets 150 Muslim scholars

Earlier in the day, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma met 150 scholars of the Muslim community on Sunday to get their views on the Population control policy. The discussion centered around socio-economic issues affecting the indigenous Muslim population of Assam and was held in presence of various cabinet ministers. 

Back on June 19,  Sarma had announced that his government will gradually incorporate a two-child policy for availing govt benefits. He has touted to pass the bill in the coming Monsoon Session, implementing the policy in the State.

(With inputs from agency)