Owaisi asks his 'Majnu' CM Yogi to not shout 'Laila-Laila'; and talk on UP's healthcare

Once again describing himself as 'Laila', All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday asserted that he was being targetted in every interview by Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader Yogi Adityanath, who he described as his 'Majnu'. He suggested the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to refrain from putting all his attention on him and suggested diverting some of it towards the healthcare condition in the state.

"The CM, who has become my ''Majnu'' and crying ''Laila-Laila'' in all interviews, should tell about health services in the state. There is a 40 percent shortfall in health sub-centers in rural UP and there is no specialist doctor in 84 per cent health centres," Owaisi said. Pointing out that in the state which sent Narendra Modi to the Lok Sabha twice, three to four lakh families lost their near and dear ones to COVID in the second wave due to the poor health services, he added, " They did not have wood to cremate or a place to bury bodies".

Owaisi on Population Control Bill 

Owaisi also took a swipe at the state government over the Population Control Bill. Asserting that the Bill is a violation of the Constitution of India, he underlined that Article 21 of the Consitution gives the Right to Personal Anatomy, and added that such a law cannot be put into implementation. 

Owaisi also pointed out that the Total Fertility Rate(TFR) of India, after the implementation of the National Population Policy, had dipped from 3.2  in 2000 to 2.2 in 2021. "Keeping in mind the TFR, I see no incentive to implement the present policy." He added, "The PM Modi government had submitted an affidavit in 2020 in which it had held that the 2 child norm in India cannot be implemented because the TFR had fallen down. Then, why is this now being implemented in Uttar Pradesh." He concluded by asking, "Is the Yogi government going against the Modi government? "

What is UP's Population Bill 2021?

The UP Population Bill's draft lists incentives for government employees, the general public, and couples below the poverty line for adopting two-child or one-child policy via voluntary sterilization - which includes additional increments, house subsidies, rebates on utilities, paid 12-month maternity and paternity leave, free health care to spouse and increased employer's contribution to the national pension scheme - to name a few. The Bill also lists many disincentives for all such as debarring from benefits of govt-sponsored welfare schemes, ration card limits, contesting local body elections, etc. The Bill will not be applicable to those already having more than two children before the passage of the Bill.

Moreover, the Bill lists additional incentives for couples adopting a one-child policy like - two more increments during the entire services, free health care facility and insurance coverage to the single child till it turns 20, preference to a single child in admission in all educational institutions and govt jobs, free education up-to graduation level, scholarship for higher studies in case of a girl child. The Bill also tasks the govt with establishing maternity centers at all the primary health centers, availability of contraceptive pills, condoms, insurance for the failure of tubectomy or vasectomy, and encourage male participation in family planning. Exceptions to the law include - multiple births out of second pregnancy, adoption up to two children, disability of the first or second child, death of a child, and married couple expecting a third child during the implementation of the Bill.

With inputs from PTI

IMAGE: PTI