Stating that it is "coercive", the Health Ministry plans to ask the states to scrap the policy which "penalises" those who have more than two children.The decision was taken at the first meeting of the National Population Commission in Delhi today. It was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, health minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, HRD minister Arjun Singh, rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, urban development minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and NCP’s Sharad Pawar. While the Health Minister claimed there was a general consensus against the policy, sources said Pawar opposed the decision.Seven states — Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Rajasthan, Orissa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh — had implemented the policy. Himachal scrapped it while MP Chief Minister Babulal Gaur pledged to do it at today’s meeting.“The Health Ministry has always maintained that there should be no coercion as far as population stabilisation is concerned,’’ said Dr Ramadoss.Earlier, addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said stabilising population was one of the key challenges the country faced. He said stabilisation should not be confused with control. “There is a consensus that population stabilisation entails a holistic approach towards education and health care, particularly of women and children.’’ The Left has supported today’s decision. “It has been shown to strengthen caste hierarchy by differentiating between those who have access to health care from those who do not. It is anti-poor,’’ said Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) Politburo.
