MPs, MLAs with more than two children should be made ineligible to contest polls: Ajit Pawar

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has said that people who go on to have more than two children should not be given any concessions, and even legislators in such cases should be made ineligible to contest elections.

India has surpassed China in terms of population growth, Pawar said while speaking at an event in Baramati on Sunday.

"My grandfather used to tell me that when we got independence, our population was 35 crore and now it has reached 142 crore, and for that, we are all responsible," the Leader of Opposition in the state legislative Assembly said.

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Pawar said that in an interview two days ago, he had asserted that all political parties should take this issue seriously.

"Everyone should stop after having one or two children for the betterment of our country, state, district, and region," he said.

He further said that henceforth, no concessions should be given to people who have more than two children.

"When Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister, we were apprehensive while taking a decision that candidates aspiring to contest local body elections to gram panchayats, zilla parishads and taluka panchayats would be ineligible if they had three children," Pawar said.

"People ask why a similar decision was not taken with regard to MPs and MLAs. I tell them it is not in our hands. It is in the hands of the Centre and it is our demand that the Centre should do it," he said. People will become more aware and conscious about the issue if they are not given any concessions, the NCP leader said.