Mumbai: "What she meant was family planning...She should not have uttered the word 'nasbandi'. But family planning and population control are one and the same thing," the Sena said in its editorial today, adding "even stray dogs cannot be sterilized forcefully, as Maneka Gandhi is standing up for them. But stray dogs later bite people."
It advocates smaller families for Muslims to stay "happy and healthy," saying, "When we raise the demand for performing 'nasbandi' - sorry, family planning - it is in the best interests of the country and the Muslim community... With family planning, they will be able to feed and educate the children and live better lives..."
The Sena has slammed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for his recent statement that Muslims are poor so they produce more children. "We are wasting time engaging in a useless debate on 'nasbandi' versus 'family planning'... If nothing else, the Muslim leaders can at least sterilise their communal ideology and save the country," it writes.
On Sunday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut sparked a major controversy by saying in a column that Muslims in the country were being used for vote bank politics and that revoking their voting rights would solve their problems.
As nation-wide criticism poured in, Mr Raut, who is Saamana's executive editor and a member of Parliament, alleged he was "misunderstood."
Days after it published a controversial column on voting rights for Muslims, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna has featured a provocative editorial claiming minorities needed to adhere to family planning as the "growing population of Muslims and Christians has become a threat to Hindus."
It objects to the word "sterilisation" or "nasbandi" and says it prefers "family planning," backing similar comments made to much outrage by Sadhvi Deva Thakur, a leader of right-wing organisation Hindu Mahasabha recently.
The Sadhvi had called for an "emergency" to force "Muslims and Christians to undergo sterilisation (nasbandi) so that they can't increase their numbers."
It advocates smaller families for Muslims to stay "happy and healthy," saying, "When we raise the demand for performing 'nasbandi' - sorry, family planning - it is in the best interests of the country and the Muslim community... With family planning, they will be able to feed and educate the children and live better lives..."
Advertisement
On Sunday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut sparked a major controversy by saying in a column that Muslims in the country were being used for vote bank politics and that revoking their voting rights would solve their problems.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Will Suspend All Freebies Unless...": Supreme Court's Warning To Maharashtra Asha Parekh To Receive Maharashtra Govt's 'Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Award' Man Arrested After Allegedly Raping Teen Student In Maharashtra: Cops Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death Mahindra Thar Roxx Variant-Wise Feature List: All About Most VFM Trim Major Admin Reshuffle In Jammu And Kashmir Ahead Of Likely Poll Announcement Google Brings 'AI Overviews' To India With Country-First Features Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.