India’s Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh called for strict cross-faith birth control legislation on Monday in order to control the steady rise in the country’s population.
Sharing a video statement on Twitter, the minister drew a metaphor between India's rising population and the mythical female demon Sursa’s ever-expanding mouth.
"We have limited resources. Our population is expanding like the mouth of Sursa. The perverse mindset out of which one person sires 10 children cannot be allowed," Singh said.
The minister, who represents the Begusarai parliamentary constituency in Bihar state, said that over the past three decades, India has lost out to China in terms of the speed of economic progress but surpassed its neighbor in population growth.
He added that a stringent law for population control, which was "applicable across the country and to people of all religious affiliations", was the need of the hour. He offered no further details on the proposal.
"The demand for such a law must be raised, from Parliament to the streets," said the minister and Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian.
His statement came on July 11, World Population Day, which intends to create public awareness about issues related to increasing population and its consequences on the environment.
The United Nations’ World Population Prospects 2022 report suggests that India is projected to overtake China as the world's most populated country in 2023.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division report stated that "India, which will surpass China as the world's most populous nation by 2023, is expected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, way ahead of China's 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century."
According to the report, India's population currently stands at 1.412 billion compared to China's 1.426 billion.
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