Bhopal:
Late Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi was infamous for the population control overdrive during the Emergency that many claim led to forcible sterilisations. Now, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh Chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan has praised the Congress leader for that very drive.
"After the Emergency the leaders abandoned population control completely. At this time one remembers Sanjay Gandhi. The programme that he started is worth appreciating," Chouhan said.
According to the state health department, Madhya Pradesh has 8 crore people and an annual population growth rate of three percent.
To buck the trend, Chouhan has declared 2010 as the family welfare year. From July, one week of every month will see extensive campaigns to create awareness about family planning.
The state government has set a voluntary sterilisation target of 7 lakh for this year. The aim is to bring down the population growth rate to two percent by 2013.
But the Opposition says this is an attempt to project Sanjay Gandhi's son Varun as an alternative to Rahul Gandhi.
"Till the end they called him a dictator, that period is called the Black period. They are doing this only to placate Varun Gandhi as they have no other alternative," said Arvind Malviye, spokesperson , Madhya Pradesh Congress.
Sanjay Gandhi's sterilisation programme is infamous for excesses, many unmarried young men were tortured and forced to undergo sterlisation to meet the target. One hopes Shivraj Singh Chouhan's decision to follow his hero's foot step does not meet a similar fate.