‘Give birth to 4 kids, get Rs 1 lakh’: MP state board chief’s offer to Brahmin couples

Pandit Vishnu Rajoria, who heads the Parshuram Kalyan Board, holding a post equivalent to a cabinet minister, while speaking at a recent event in Indore, said that Brahmin couples must have four children to protect ‘Sanatana Dharma’ and prevent the increase in number of “heretics”.

‘Settling after one child problematic’

Lashing out at couples who have just one child, Rajoria said that a couple must have at least four children for the sake of the future generation.

Also read: Women in rich countries are having fewer kids, or none at all. What’s going on?

“I have high hopes from the youngsters. We can’t expect much from the older people. Listen carefully, you are responsible for the protection of the future generation. Youngsters get settled and stop after one child. This is very problematic. I urge you to have at least four,” NDTV quoted him as saying.

Rajoria said the Prashuram Board would give Rs 1 lakh to eligible couples whether or not he stays the president.

‘Manage somehow…’

Stating that many couples often express their inability to keep up with the rising cost of education of children in the current times, Rajoria said, “Manage somehow, but don’t lag in giving birth to children. Otherwise, heretics will capture this country.”

When asked if having four children will financially handicap a family, he said, “when our country did not gain freedom, we did not have clothes and there were fewer facilities for feeding them. But God's grace, we have governments in the state and Centre wherein there is no one who is not hungry, thirsty and has no clothes to wear."

For the sake of Sanatana Dharma

Even though his statement has received severe backlash from several sections of society, Rajoria said he had made it in his personal capacity.

“This is my social statement, made in a community programme. The Brahmin society can fulfil these commitments, including education and training for the children for higher positions,” he told NDTV.

He reportedly also said that it is mandatory for Brahmin couples to beget at least four children to protect Sanatana Dharma.

"To protect Sanatana Dharma, it is very important for couples to produce more babies so that one of them can take care of the family, can earn for the family and for attaining 'moksha dharma'," India Today quoted him as saying.

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‘Shouldn’t talk about poverty, inflation’

Asserting that concerns over the upkeep of the children is unnecessary, Rajoria has said that India has no dearth of resources and is steered by a government which is leading the country towards progress.

"We should not talk about problems about poverty and inflation related to this. As many as 25 crore people have got out of poverty recently. We are building a strong nation, so we also have to promote and make Sanatana Dharma stronger," India Today quoted him as saying.

He claimed that his proposal has been approved by the Brahmin community and the board will soon begin work towards giving out the stipends.

Congress slams leader, BJP distances itself

Rajoria’s remark was condemned by the Congress with state leader Mukesh Nayak asking him to reconsider it.

"He is a learned man, my friend. I want to tell him that population growth is among the world's big problems today. The fewer the children, the easier it would be to ensure their education. A paranoia is being created that Muslims would outnumber Hindus and they would eat Hindus up. These are imaginary ideas. Our country will be powerful only when we are united," he said.

Also read: ‘Jobless men can’t marry, reproduce’: Congress MP slams Bhagwat’s ‘3 kids’ advice

In a statement, the BJP distanced itself from Rajoria’s statements.

"The BJP government works according to rules and the Constitution. Whatever he said could be his personal opinion. The government believes this matter is a decision of parents. The party has nothing to do with this," NDTV quoted the party as saying.

Debate on children

The statement by the state board chief comes amid a raging debate on falling fertility rate in the country and controversial statements by allies of the ruling BJP coaxing Hindu couples to have more children.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently sparked a controversy when he suggested Indian couples to have at least three children while raising concerns over the country’s declining fertility rate.

Also read: India’s fertility rate going down, every woman must have 3 kids: RSS chief

“A declining population is a serious concern. Demographic studies suggest that when a society’s total fertility rate falls below 2.1, it risks facing extinction. This decline does not necessarily require external threats; a society can gradually fade away on its own,” Bhagwat had said while laying emphasis on ‘kutumb’ or family as an integral part of society.

The N Chandrababu Naidu-led government in Andhra Pradesh, which is an ally of the NDA, in November 2024 also passed bills to amend the state Panchayat Raj and Municipal Acts to scrap a policy that made individuals with more than two children ineligible to contest in local body polls. Incidentally, the two-child norm was originally introduced in 1994 by Naidu’s government with a focus on controlling population.