BJP Leader Mohsin Raza criticises Congress for "forced sterilisation", backs RSS chief's population remarks

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 30 (ANI): Reacting to Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai's comments on RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, former UP minister Mohsin Raza asserted that Congress has no standing to speak on population issues, recalling the party's record of "forced sterilisation" during the Emergency period.
Raza's sharp rebuttal came in response to Rai's recent comments targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat over his suggestions on population control.
"No Congress worker or office bearer has the right to speak on population. We cannot forget the era when Congress was forcibly sterilising people," Raza told ANI on Friday.
Defending the RSS, Raza said, "If he (RSS chief) has made a suggestion today, we appreciate it because if you have three children, your family advances and works in the national interest as well as public interest."
He further accused the Congress of hypocrisy and historical amnesia.
"I would like to ask the State Congress chief if he forgot the time when his own government was forcibly sterilising people. Are you not ashamed of making such statements today?" the former UP Minister said.
Earlier on Thursday, Bhagwat, while addressing the centenary celebrations of RSS in New Delhi, had said every Indian citizen should consider having three children. He said that population growth could be both an asset and a burden, but a stable birth rate will help keep the population in control while maintaining an acceptable level.
"Our country's population policy recommends 2.1 children, on average. But when one has children, then they don't have 0.1 children. In maths, 2.1 is 2, but with the birth of children after 2, it is 3, which is why 2.1 means 3. Every citizen should see that there should be three children in his/her family," the RSS chief said.
"This is a vision for the country. Secondly, there is also a concern. A population is an asset, but it can also be a burden. We have to feed everyone, which is why the population policy recommends this. In one way, the population is controlled, and on the other hand, it is sufficient; that is why 3 (children) should happen, but after that, it should not increase too much, looking at giving them a good upbringing. This is a thing to be accepted by everyone," Bhagwat said.
Reacting to this, Ajay Rai said if Bhagwat truly believed in the idea, he should first ask RSS members to marry and follow it themselves.
"If the Sangh is saying this, then Mohan Bhagwat ji should immediately issue a directive to all RSS members to get married and follow what he has said. In Sangh, everyone is roaming unmarried," Rai quipped. (ANI)