After bringing in the controversial legislation banning construction of religious places without prior permission of the state authorities, the Uttar Pradesh government has now decided to introduce a population policy which will target "specific groups and communities which have a higher rate of growth of population".

Announcing the decision, Uttar Pradesh chief minister R.P. Gupta said, "There are groups and communities which feel that if they go on increasing their number they will capture power one day. Such a way of thinking has to be disincentivised". The "disincentive", to begin with, means debarring those having more than two. Children from contesting panchayat elections, he said.

The Chief minister said that in order to control population there "should be some restrictions on contesting elections, only then can be menace be controlled". Gupta made these announcements ... while addressing a three-day conference on population issues in Lucknow. Opposition parties, however, have cried foul.

They say this obviously is yet another move by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh to target the minorities, especially Muslims.

State Congress President Salman Khurshid, told (Asian Age) ... he was not at all surprised ... but he was "shocked" at the audacity of it all.

"Gupta is blatantly implementing the RSS agenda. He represents the core of RSS and BJP, with all its warts and moles, without the sugar-coating that they have in Delhi ... , he said.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, too, minced no words while lashing out at the Gupta government.

"This is a direct attack, the second in a row after the religious places legislation, on the minorities. The RSS agenda, so far hidden, is now out in the open. Gupta is only repeating the established Sangh line on Muslims whom the RSS ideologue Golwalkar described as 'videshi and said their population needed to be controlled otherwise they would capture power one day." ...

Though political observers feel UP needed a population policy they, however, said there should be only one criteria, economic criteria, for defining "groups and communities". In this case, however, they said the Uttar Pradesh government's intentions appeared 'suspect' because of Gupta's political track record.

Gupta's recent statements that he would not mind having a Ram temple constructed Ayodhya, provided it was done peacefully, had political parties up in arms.

Then he brought the religious places legislation banning construction of places of worship without prior permission of the state government, which created yet another furore.