Labour Minister clarifies on family planning

Hyderabad, Nov 26 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Labour Minister G Vinod today said he had been misconstrued on his piece of advice to Girijans on family planning.

''I have only asked the tribals, most of them suffering from anaemia, to first take care of their general health condition before deciding on family planning,'' he told reporters here.

Visiting Utnoor in the agency area of Adilabad district yesterday along with Health Minister S Chandrasekar to console the tribals on losing their children in large numbers due to mysterious viral fever, the Minister had reportedly asked them to have a rethink on family planning operation.

In the good old days, high birth rates neutralised high death rates, he had reportedly said.

Over 90 poor tribals, mostly children, had died in the last few months as they refused to take allopathic medicines and took herbal preparations on their own, he said.

Clarifying his statement, the minister said, ''there is no hard and fast rule on whether one should undergo vasectomy or tubectomy.

If health permits, one can undergo the operation. It is for the husband and wife to decide on this.'' ''Who am I to say whether one should have more or less children. It is purely a personal matter,''he said.

UNI