Assam Government may come up with a 2-child policy law in the next month’s Budget Session of the state assembly to provide it a state wide enforcement.
As reported by NDTV the Assam government has currently in place, a two-child policy norm along with requirements of minimum educational qualifications and functional sanitary toilets for contesting in Panchayat polls as per the amendments in the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994.
Chief minister Hemanta Biswas announced that there will be gradual implementation of the policy in state-run welfare schemes and state government jobs. At present the modalities are not yet finalised and modes of implementation are under consideration.
Assam Government’s two-child policy has been criticised on the grounds that it aims to target the Muslim population of Bangladeshi origin. In a statement, Hemanta Biswas Said that the ‘social menace’ like land encroachment can be solved if immigrant Muslims follow family planning and control their population.
He was reported saying that “If the population explosion continues, one day even the Kamakhya Temple land will be encroached, even my house will be encroached upon”. The BJP run government in the state has blatantly focused on the issue of maintaining and protecting the indigenous identity of the state of Assam against the illegal migrants.
However, interestingly the proposed legislation will not be applicable in all the schemes in Assam as many benefits are provided by the Central Government. Also, the Backward classes like the tea tribe, who work in tea gardens would be exempted from this policy.
The conundrum regarding this policy has been flared especially by the Muslim community stating it as a systematic subjugation of the Rights of the community.
However, besides the communal undertone, the legislative intent behind the policy must be analysed and its implementation should be generalised through-out the state.
By team SLC, Shashank (Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University)
