Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have started a different discussion. The Chief Ministers of two states of India, the youngest country in the world, are worried that the birth rate in the states of South India is decreasing and the elderly population is increasing. Therefore, both the Chief Ministers have appealed to the people to produce more children. Chandrababu Naidu has even said that henceforth only those people who have two children will be allowed to contest elections. They are talking about bringing a law for this. It is true that the number of senior citizens or elderly people is more in the South as compared to North and Central India. But this does not mean that the number of working people has decreased or there is any kind of imbalance in the population. According to the states of North and Central India, due to better health services and better lifestyle, the number of elderly people is more in the South.
Yes, it is true that the birth rate in the states of South India is lower than the national average. At the national level, the birth rate is 2.2 percent, which is almost equal to the replacement rate, while the average of the southern states is 1.6 percent. This means that there is no single child situation in South India like China. Secondly, the apprehension expressed by MK Stalin about reduction in political power after delimitation is also not very concrete. They are assuming that delimitation will happen only on the basis of population. but it’s not like that. If population is the only measure, then Uttar Pradesh alone will have more than a hundred MPs. The number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased or decreased only by rationalizing it. Reducing the political weight of a state cannot be the objective of delimitation. Therefore, it is not right to reverse the wheel of time by showing fear of delimitation and motivating people to increase the population. Any such step will prove harmful.