By Navneet Mishra

New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS): During the ongoing campaign for the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP is facing a different kind of sloganeering in its rallies. The demand for the enactment of population control law is resonating in the rallies of the BJP. At some places, the party workers are raising this demand in front of the leaders, and at other places, it is the public that is raising their voice, thus making the BJP leaders say that this shows that the party's core voter now wants a population control law enacted.

At Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in the CBD Ground in Karkardooma on Monday, crowds shouted the slogans for 'population control'. During the rally, when Prime Minister Modi was mentioning the 30 works done by his government, which according to him have happened for the first time after Independence, the crowd standing behind the media gallery started shouting slogans in favour of the Population Control law.

The BJP leaders say that similar demand was also made in front of other leaders, who are involved in organising street corner meetings in Delhi. People say that population explosion is the root of all the problems in the country. When the government can remove Article 370, bring the CAA, then why can't it take bold steps like population control law, they ask.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has also advocated for the need of small family norm during his recent visit to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

A petition by the BJP leader and Supreme Court lawyer Ashwani Upadhyay is pending in the Court, on which a reply has been sought from the government.

The BJP leaders have been mulling on the issue for sometime now.

In December last, several BJP leaders raised the issue during the party's national secretaries meeting on the Citizenship Amendment Bill at the residence of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Ever since the Citizenship Amendment Act was enacted, there has been discussion within the BJP that the next step of the Modi government would be the Uniform Civil Code and the Population Control Act.

It is believed that the way the issue is being raised in the party meetings, the government can take steps in this direction very soon.