The decision taken under pressure from leaders of all parties comes after the government enforced the two-child norm for government employees and panchayati raj institutions.
Father-of-nine Lalu Prasad and his likes can continue to contest.
The Centre has decided to drop the idea of barring politicians with more than two children from polls.
The decision taken under pressure from leaders of all parties comes after the government enforced the two-child norm for government employees and panchayati raj institutions.
The health ministry headed by Ghulam Nabi Azad will soon start the process of withdrawing the 79th Constitutional Amendment Bill introduced in 1992.
The bill was awaiting parliament clearance, even as many states, including Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, adopted the norm for panchayat polls. The rule disqualifies candidates with more than two children on the cut-off date from contesting elections.
The bill proposed to include in fundamental duties the obligation to promote and adopt small families. It advocated barring politicians with large broods from contesting polls.
The bill was opposed by all parties, saying it discriminated against communities having high fertility rates such as minorities and OBCs. The norm was also seen as a disadvantage to women as it would have kept them out of the election process.
Officials in the health ministry said the government’s approach
towards family planning should be holistic and it should not adopt coercive measures. However, successive governments have failed to forge a political consensus on the issue.
About 1/5th of the previous Lok Sabha had politicians with more than two children and 114 members with four or more children. Lalu topped the list.
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