Uttar Pradesh draft population Bill: Congress cautious, Nitish Kumar unimpressed

Ahead of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's 'Mission UP' that kicks off with her visit to Lucknow and district tour plans from April 14, Congress plans to flesh out BJP leaders' remarks on having more children to counter Yogi Adityanath's proposed draft bill on population control but "not to oppose it".

An over two-hour-long meeting of UP Congress leaders called by Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to work out a strategy for UP polls saw most of the participants wary of the party getting a Muslim appeasement tag on the issue that could be an advantage to BJP and batted for caution on the issue.

Most of the leaders felt that Congress should not fall into the "BJP trap" and be seen as siding with any particular community by opposing the bill and instead raise questions on the intent of bringing it months before assembly polls in the state.

Read more: Opposition parties attack Uttar Pradesh government over draft population control bill

"Many BJP leaders like Sakshi Maharaj have said in the past Hindus must have at least four children. We will cite their comments and ask whether they were right or Yogi is right," said a leader who was part of the meeting.

While the UP BJP is treating it as a masterstroke for the polls as the issue could further polarise elections, given the past history of the campaigns of many in the saffron family about Muslims having more children, what could really turn out to be an embarrassment for the party is the 'more than two children' campaign by a number of its party leaders in past.

Congress, which had concluded in A K Antony Committee report after the 2014's worst poll debacle (winning only 44 Lok Sabha seats) that one of the reasons for it was also a perception that the party is pro-Muslim, an agenda peddled by the BJP. Since then, the party has tried to play safe on issues which could polarise voters.

There is a view in the party that going hammer and tongs against the bill will help BJP to create an impression of Congress trying to favour one community at the cost of national interests.

"We will wait for what happens to the draft bill. It is still a draft. But Congress will ask why the BJP is not bringing such a bill in the Parliament and enact a national law instead of bringing it in UP months before the polls," a party leader said.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said while every state is independent to do what they want and his opinion is very clear that "population control can't be attained by just making laws". Kumar felt that when women are educated, they will become conscious enough and the fertility rate will decrease. "Everybody has his own way of thinking. Some think they can control the population by making laws. We have our thinking," Kumar said.

Surprisingly, even the Vishva Hindu Parishad jumped into the fray by asking the UP government to remove the one-child policy norm from its draft population control bill as well as do away with the anomaly of rewarding or punishing the child, instead of the parents.

Priyanka Gandhi emphasises hitting the ground

Aware that the UP polls could be challenging for the party given its organisational inadequacies, Priyanka Gandhi in the meeting put emphasis on the need for senior party leaders from the state to hit the ground and visit each district. Sonia Gandhi is the only MP of Congress among 80 Parliamentarians in the state.

Priyanka Gandhi, who held interactions with former Union Minister Salman Khurshid and Rajiv Shukla, UPPCC chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, former state chief Pramod Tiwari and Raashid Alvi, has decided to hold another round of meetings with UP leaders in the coming days. She will hold meetings with all Pradesh Congress Committee members and district and city presidents, as the party plans to grill the UP government over issues such as unemployment, price rise and the state law and order.