Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram on Wednesday asserted that the Tamil Nadu government should not be encouraging a third child in families while also suggesting that maternal support is crucial, paternal leave policies require equal legislative attention.Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, in a post on X, elaborated his stance concerning household economics and government family welfare schemes.He wrote, "While maternity leave is most welcome, paternity leave should also be considered, but the government should not be encouraging a third child in families. Do families have the resources to support a 3rd child?"
While maternity leave is most welcome, paternity leave should also be considered, but government should not be encouraging a third child in families. Do families have the resources to support a 3rd child? @CMOTamilnadu https://t.co/wRoFsuNkBc
His remarks came after the Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister Vijay, announced extending 365 days of maternity leave for women state government employees for a third child and enhanced benefits for MLAs.Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore welcomed the extension of maternity leave by the Tamil Nadu government and requested the state's Health Minister to hear and consider the views of various stakeholders before taking a final decision.He said, "The extension of maternity leave by the Tamil Nadu government is a welcome step. Tamil Nadu has been a very successful state largely because it adhered to the two-child norm. If there is any shift toward a third-child norm, I hope the Cabinet decides through careful and rightful deliberation.""Tamil Nadu's family planning initiatives have been a proven success story, and any potential alteration to this policy must be thoroughly discussed in an appropriate forum. I request the Tamil Nadu Health Minister to hear and consider the views of various stakeholders before taking a final decision," Manickam Tagore added.On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister Vijay, announced a series of welfare measures, including extending 365 days of maternity leave for women state government employees for a third child and enhanced benefits for MLAs.According to the announcement, women working in the state government will now be entitled to 365 days of maternity leave for a third child, bringing it in line with the leave available for the first two children.However, opposing the announcement, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said that Tamil Nadu was the first state to follow family planning and encouraged couples to have no more than two children.
"Tamil Nadu is the first state to follow family planning in a restricted sense. That is why we stopped at two children. It is better to have only two children in a family, which will help the family and enable the parents to bring up their children," the DMK leaders said.Saying that the current TVK-led state government might be abandoning family planning, he added, "But if they are having a third child, it means they are abandoning the family planning programme. I don't understand the meaning of this. This government does not want family planning. That is the only thing I can infer from this."The Tamil Nadu government has also announced a series of major measures under Rule 110, covering milk procurement prices, medical education, healthcare infrastructure, and insurance coverage.