The Bharatiya Janata Party today described the Census 2011 figures as “an eye—opener and shocking” and insisted that more efforts are needed to control the population failing which there may not be enough resources left for survival of the burgeoning numbers.
“The Census figures are shocking. Specially the increasing gap in the ratio of male and female population in the country. This is an eye-opener and a matter of concern,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
The Census 2011 states that the child sex ratio today is 914 females for every 1000 males in the country. This is the lowest since independence.
“If immediate steps are not taken there will be problems. There is already shortage of water and other resources. Land is becoming barren in some parts of the country. Government should worry about the growing population,” Mr. Hussain said.
He said that the erstwhile BJP-led NDA government had made efforts in this direction but these may not have been sufficient.
“Several efforts were made during the NDA. We also tried (to check population explosion). If sincere efforts had been made this would not have happened,” Mr. Hussain said.
He praised the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan (universal primary education programme) started by the NDA and said this had led to an impressive improvement in literacy today.
“We started the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and the UPA government continued with it. It has brought an improvement in the literacy rate,” he said.
The Census 2011 figures show that literacy in India stands at 74 per cent.
Mr. Hussain said no party which has ruled should be blamed for the rising population and the issue should not be politicised.
