UP CM Adityanath meets RSS chief Bhagwat; population issue 'discussed', say sources
Prayagraj (UP), Oct 20: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday met RSS head Mohan Bhagwat here, with the two leaders learnt to have discussed the population issue.
According to sources, Chief Minister Adityanath flew from Lucknow to meet Bhagwat and the two were together for about an hour.
The two had lunch together after which the CM returned, they said, adding that both discussed the population issue. Adityanath also invited the RSS chief to Deepotsav at Ayodhya on October 23.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Dattatreya Hosabale had on Wednesday said religious conversion and migration from Bangladesh were causing "population imbalance" and called for strict implementation of anti-conversion laws.
Bhagwat had attended an RSS meet here from October 16 to 19 in which the population problem was discussed.
The Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission had last year submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a draft population control bill and made a slew of recommendations, including additional incentives to public servants for adopting the one-child norm and banning those who violate the two-child policy from contesting local bodies polls.
The recommendations were made in the 19th report on Population Control, Stabilisation and Welfare. The report along with the draft Uttar Pradesh Population Control, Stabilisation and Welfare Bill, 2021 was handed over to the CM. But, no further action was initiated.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said whatever issue the RSS raises is always in the interest of the nation and added its concern over population problem would get support of the nation.
When asked by the media in Lucknow if the government will bring a policy on the issue of population control, Maurya said, "We will have to wait for what the government will do once a meeting is held over it. What I am saying is my personal opinion."
"The number of people opposing this issue is very small. Even among them the good people are in support. See, problems will appear if 100 people start living in a house made for 10 people," he added.
A few months ago, Adityanath had said population control programmes must not lead to an "imbalance" by focusing on "native" residents while the growth rate of some community remains high, a possible reference to Muslims.
He said "population stabilisation" should be uniform across different sections of people, and expressed concern over the likelihood of "anarchy" at some point if there are "imbalances" in a country.
"It should not happen that the speed of population growth or the percentage of some community is high and we stabilise the population of the 'moolniwasi' (natives) through awareness or enforcement," he had said.
Such situation could have an adverse impact on religious demography and after some time "disorder" (avayvastha) and "anarchy" (arajakta) could begin in that country, the CM had said.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
