Hyderabad: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has demanded that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu restrict monetary assistance for population expansion in his state to Hindu couples alone.
VHP Bhagyanagar Kshetram secretary Tanikella Satya Ravikumar told ThePrint that an unrestricted extension of monetary benefits to all communities could further alter the state’s demography.
“When the central government under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked states to control population growth during the Emergency, data clearly show that South Indian states, and particularly Hindus, implemented the directive. Conversely, the Muslim population continues to grow because India’s Muslims failed to be part of this plan, and the Christian population has grown because of conversion. So, the government incentives should be earmarked for communities whose family sizes have reduced,” said Ravikumar.
The VHP demands come after the Andhra Pradesh CM’s announcement of extending Rs 30,000 support to couples having a third child and Rs 40,000 for a fourth, all to improve the state’s fertility rate. Andhra Pradesh’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined to 1.5, which is significantly below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population.
Warning that a universal implementation of the scheme could weaken the Hindu birth rate, the VHP chief for both Telugu-speaking states—Andhra and Telangana—urged Naidu to clarify his policy. Naidu announced an incentive-linked scheme for every additional child during the Andhra Pradesh Budget Session in March this year. On the floor of the House and at meetings thereafter with the Women and Child Welfare minister, the chief minister was quoted as endorsing the RSS chief’s words.
“As RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has always said, every couple should have three children. This is very important. If we focus on population, 2047 and centuries beyond it will be only India that will dominate,” Naidu said.
Responding to Naidu’s policy on incentivising more children, the Communist Party of India (CPI) National Secretary K. Narayana said the state should support the welfare and well-being of every child till the age of 18. He labelled the policy “irresponsible” and “ridiculous”, questioning how impoverished families could be expected to raise three or four children with a paltry one-time payout, given what he called the lack of educational and healthcare infrastructure in the state.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
