Joining the chorus for large families with more kids in the wake of the impending delimitation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday asked why newlyweds should not aim for having 16 children.

His advocacy for parents to have more children comes close on the heels of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu making a similar plea. Both have expressed serious apprehensions about the number of Lok Sabha seats being reduced in the delimitation exercise owing to their successful population control measures.

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With the decennial census expected to commence and the delimitation succeeding it, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh too had raised the issue saying the southern states should not be penalised for their creditable performance in family planning. Pioneers in containing population, Kerala in 1991, Tamil Nadu in 1994, Andhra Pradesh in 2001, and Karnataka in 2005 have reached replacement level of fertility, he had pointed out.

Stalin made the observation on the need for larger families after solemnising the marriages of 31 couples, organised by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department held at the famed Marundheeswarar temple premises in Thiruvanmiyur in the city. It is an ancient Saivite shrine patronised by the imperial Cholas and sung by two of the pre-eminent Saivite quartet – Appar and Thirugnana Sambandar.

“Earlier in the past, the usual way to bless couples was by wishing them to be endowed with 16 and lead a life of grandeur. But the real meaning of being endowed with 16 is not having 16 children but, as Tamil scholar KAP Viswanatham listed out, 16 types of wealth, which included house, cattle, land, house, wife, education, integrity, and fame besides kids. But now there is a need for a rethink to give up the small family norm and aim for 16 children. We are faced with a situation where the number of seats for Tamil Nadu in parliament might come down. Hence, the question as to why we should not go for 16 children,” Stalin said and urged the couples to christen their children with ‘beautiful Tamil names’.

While Chandrababu Naidu recently announced that his government was considering incentives to the families having more children and wanted the southern states to follow suit, Stalin did not elaborate on his big family vision. But ever since the new Parliament complex, with a total seating capacity of 1,272 (LS- 888 and RS – 384) was inaugurated, there has been a raging debate on the strength of the southern states getting reduced when the delimitation is taken up.