'Population explosion' not problem of any religion but of entire country: Naqvi

New Delhi: "Population explosion" is not a problem of any religion but of the entire country and everyone has to work together to find a solution, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters here, the former minority affairs minister said no country can ignore or afford the problem of a "population explosion".

Effective measures taken by most of the countries to control population have yielded positive results, he noted, adding that the people of these countries have supported their respective governments and administrations in efforts to control increasing population.

Increasing this problem by making religion a "security cover" is neither in the interest of the country nor the society, he said.

"Population control is not a challenge for a particular caste-community but it is a mammoth challenge for the entire country and we all have to work together to find a way for its solution," Naqvi said.

In an apparent swipe at Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq over his remarks that giving birth to a child is up to the almighty, Naqvi said that some people want to create "unlimited problems on the pretext of Allah's mercy" on the issue of population control.

In a late night tweet on Monday, Naqvi had asserted that the problem of population explosion is not of any religion, but of the country, and it is not right to associate it with caste and religion.