NEW DELHI (TIP): Backward satraps Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sharad Yadav made a strong pitch for a law to control population, turning the infamous Emergency on its head when “socialists” were at the forefront of opposing the coercive measures authored by Sanjay Gandhi. JD(U) president Sharad Yadav told Lok Sabha that no matter how many laws are made, they would be nonstarter till a strong law is brought to rein in population. He even demanded a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue.

The Bihar MP found strong support from Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam who said there was a law on population but was not being respected. “You say that jobs should not be given to people who have more than two children. Everything will fall into place on its own,” Mulayam said. The issue came up for a brief but animated discussion in Lok Sabha during the debate on land acquisition bill. Mulayam warned that continued acquisition of agricultural land could lead to food scarcity in future, adding that farm land was decreasing by 3% annually while population was increasing. No sooner did he make the remark that Sharad Yadav interjected to say “a law should be brought to control population”. The advocacy to curb the growing numbers, even through a law, surprised observers who said the political journey of the backward satraps had come a full circle.The socialist bloc that the Yadav duo hails from had opposed coercive population control pushed by Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency. The forced sterilization on men to stop births were condemned as totalitarian approach modeled on the China formula. Later, even supporters of the move in Congress had acknowledged it was a mistake