Sensing that the Opposition was not keen to object to his proposal, the chief minister quickly announced tabling of a resolution in this regard in the on-going session.
Yeddyurappa said the resolution, if approved by both the Houses of the Legislature, would be sent to the Centre, as a means to impress upon it the necessity to enact a legislation. “There is a need for a national debate on the subject. Let us start it from Karnataka by passing the resolution in both the Houses,” he stated.
If not a legislation, the government has the right to stop all facilities to parents having, or intend to have, more than two children. If the opposition parties cooperate, a decision can be taken, the CM added.
Yeddyurappa further said: “In all these years we have not managed to provide even the basic facilities to the poor and it is better to take preventive steps before the situation goes out of hand.” This policy is not for those who can afford a decent living but for those who are below the poverty line (BPL). The CM categorically stated that any new norm on family planning will not affect existing BPL families but was one for the future.
Earlier, Opposition leader V S Ugrappa asked the government to table a resolution in the House in this regard and not to restrict it to mere lip service. “The growing population was a major challenge to not just the State but the entire country," he stated.
But the CM’s new interest in the two-child norm, which he evidently developed during his recent China visit, drew criticism from the JD(S). Senior JD(S) leader M C Nanaiah gave the example of Western Europe where the fall in population has reduced the quality of peoples’ lives.