'India Will Diminish If...': Chandrababu Naidu Stands Firm On His 'More Kids' Mantra

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu continues to stand for his "more kids" mantra. On Tuesday, while speaking to reporters Naidu said, "If we can manage the population, India can go globally."

He added, "Ultimately India will diminish after some time but Andhra will be a case study."

This comes as in a surprising move earlier Naidu has expressed concern about the growing ageing population in India and emphasised the new population policy to control the same.

Moreover, he encouraged families in the southern states to have more children.

In his address, the Chief Minister shared his plans to bring about new legislation encouraging bigger families. He said, "Our government’s objective is to put a law in place to ensure only those who have more than two offspring are eligible to participate in local body elections. Although we have a demographic advantage till 2047, signs of ageing problem have started appearing in South India. Many countries like Japan, China and some European countries are grappling with this issue, where a large part of the population is elderly. We are thinking of providing incentives to families with more children, encouraging couples to have more children." 

'Have 16 Kids': Stalin Supports Naidu

After Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu urged women to have more children, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin echoed this sentiment, appealing for families to consider having more children. The Lok Sabha delimitation exercise may make people think about raising "16 children", Stalin said on Monday while referring to a Tamil adage.

Stalin, who was attending a mass marriage event in Chennai, referred to a Tamil saying "pathinarum petru peru vazhvu vazhga," meaning acquire 16 different kinds of wealth and lead a prosperous life while talking about the census and delimitation process which will redraw the electoral map of India.

"The Parliament delimitation process may encourage the couples to have many children and give up thoughts of a small family. But whatever be the outcome, provide Tamil names to your children," the CM said.

This comes amid a rising concern among southern states that the delimitation process based on population may reduce their representation in Parliament, penalising them for successfully implementing population control measures.