Giriraj Singh slammed Asaduddin Owaisi and said strict measures were need to check population.
BJP leader Giriraj Singh today launched an attack on Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), and said protesting against population check for "votocracy" is not right.
The attack comes after Mr Owaisi took a dig at yoga teacher Ramdev who said that "third child shouldn't be allowed to vote" to keep population under check. Prime Minister Narendra Modi shouldn't "lose his right to vote just because he's the 3rd kid," Mr Owaisi had said in a sarcastic tweet on Monday in a jibe at Ramdev.
Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial remarks, reacting to the "third child" comment said "Ramdev should be thanked" for what he said on population control.
"If China didn't ensure population check, there would not have been any development. If we don't check population, it would lead to resource shortage and other issues," Mr Singh, who defeated CPI candidate and ex-student leader Kanhaiya Kumar by a margin of over four lakh votes in Bihar's Begusarai in Lok Sabha polls, told news agency ANI.
"Protesting against population control measures for 'votocracy' is not right," Mr Singh further added, slamming Mr Owaisi, as he suggested that the AIMIM chief was trying to appease his voter-base with his statement.
On Sunday, Yoga teacher Ramdev had suggested a punitive measure to control population at a press conference in Haridwar. "India's population should not be more than 150 crores in the next 50 years as we are not prepared or ready to bear more than that," he had said.
The 53-year-old went on to suggest that "this is only possible when the government makes a law that third child would not be allowed to vote, neither contest election nor he/she enjoys any type of privileges and facilities given by the government." It would be a deterrent for people across the religions and communities, he further said.
The AIMIM chief reacted to Ramdev's remark on Monday in a sharp tweet. "There is no law preventing people from saying downright unconstitutional things, but why do Ramdev's ideas receive undue attention? That he can do a thing with his stomach or move about his legs shouldn't mean @narendramodi lose his right to vote just because he's the 3rd kid (sic)," he wrote.
PM Modi, the third child of Damodardas Modi and Hiraba Modi, was born on September 17, 1950 in Gujarat's Vadnagar.