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| Legislators' NO’ to family welfare programme | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu,April 3:-Expectedly two bills,seeking amendment to the state constitution,that were moved by the Panthers Party MLA,Harsh Dev Singh,in the Assembly on Thursday were defeated.Not that the objectives of the bills lacked commonsense but the majority of the members of the House were not ready to allow any amendment to the constitution which would restrict their freedom in fathering as many children as they wished.Majority of members of the Assembly were opposed to any amendment to the constitution which could limit freedom of women in conceiving as many times as they wished.
Harsh Dev Singh wanted the constitution to be amended so that those who had more than two children were debarred from contesting the Assembly election.And that could have been an ideal course for making the family welfare programme a success.The State Government has been spending crores
of rupees annually on family welfare programmes.During these programmes legislators and ministers have been seen pleading for small families."Hum Do Hamare Do" has been the theme of their speeches during the family welfare programmes.
But when these very legislators and ministers were asked to support a bill that will make it mandatory for those having more than two children to be off the poll battle they favoured the status quo.Majority of Assembly members had more than two children and hence it was expected of them that they will not support the Bill.They had to oppose it because had the bill been adopted there was no question for majority of the Assembly members to think of contesting the next election due in 2014.
Harsh Dev is right when he chided the members by telling them that they believed in sermons without ever bothering to act on them.He chided them by telling them that they were shouting in favour of planned families while motivating people to accept family welfare programme but were themselves reluctant to go in for such a programme.
Majority of Assembly members were not willing to support any amendment to the constitution which could prevent semi-literate or partially educated people from holding the office of ministers.In fact Harsh Dev wanted a constitutional amendment so that some qualification was fixed for those who were to be inducted in the council of ministers.Harsh is a well qualified person.He is B.Com M.A.English LLB and this very qualification had helped him to be the most successful legislator and Education Minister.He is the first MLA to win best legislators award.Consequently he wanted that those who were inducted in the council of ministers were well qualified which could help them in giving better performance.
Members had to oppose the bill because nobody can predict one's future.They did not want to seal an opportunity of becoming a minister if the constitution fixes some qualification.Others were not enthused with the arguments dished out by Harsh Dev while pleading for support from the members.It was so because a number of MLAs had not forgotten the contribution Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad had made in the building of Jammu and Kashmir.Rightly he is called the builder of modern Jammu and Kashmir.These members know it that G.N. Sogami had proved a better minister than many who are in the council of ministers headed by Omar Abdullah.Sogami simply could sign papers and rest it was his common sense and not academic qualification,which he had none,that helped him to become a popular figure in the state.(eom)
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