Demand to control population made in Rajya Sabha

A demand for measures to control the burgeoning population in the country was made in the Rajya Sabha today with ruling BJP members stating that development work will be outpaced by such a high rate of growth.

Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Ashok Bajpai (BJP) said India will by 2022 overtake China to be the world's most populous country in the world and by 2050 would house 1.66 billion people.

"Some steps need to be taken to control the population," he said.

Population growth will outpace development work, he said.

Supporting the issue, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar (BJP) said India's population has increased from 36 crore at the time of Independence to an estimated 135 crore now. It is increasing at the rate of 2 crore people per annum.

India has just 2.4 per cent of total landmass on earth but 17.5 per cent of the world population, he said.

He said children were being born in the name of 'Bhagwan' and 'Allah'."