Basti (UP), Sep 19 (PTI) Former BJP MP and party in-charge for Assam Harish Dwivedi on Thursday claimed that a particular community was running a 'jihad' of producing more children to capture the political system and run the country according to their religion.
He told reporters here that it was important to stop the people of this community and "the government is also working seriously in this direction".
"The people of a particular community are running a jihad of producing more children with the intention of capturing the country. It has become very important to stop this," Dwivedi said.
Reacting to the statement, Samajwadi Party leader and former MLC Rajpal Kashyap alleged that the BJP practises divisive politics and its leaders make such comments to divert the attention of people from core issues such as unemployment and price rise.
Dwivedi also claimed that the particular community was becoming a big threat to the country because its people have "only one goal -- to produce as many children as possible so that they can capture the political system of India".
"This community has done vote and land jihad and now, they are running a jihad to increase their population. They aim to capture the country through the political system and run the country according to their religion and Shariat," he added.
Continuing his tirade, Dwivedi claimed that those who do not even have food to eat are producing 21 children each, and instead of educating them and making them officers or teachers, they are using them to hack the government system.
"The people of this community are conspiring to defame the Modi government by producing as many children as possible and then the government can be accused of not providing them employment and basic amenities," he alleged.
Dwivedi claimed that the government was going to take a decision in this direction so that the intentions of the "people of this community" could be stopped.
Referring to a law recently passed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa, the BJP leader said that now in Assam, people will have to inform the government about their religion and caste before getting married.
"After this law comes into force, the practice of marrying outside religion and at a young age will be stopped to a great extent," he said.
"If this law is implemented in the whole country, then perhaps the 'population jihad' can be stopped to a great extent," Dwivedi claimed.
India will be run by the Constitution and law, and not by the religious rules of a community, he added.