According to news agency PTI, the AIUDF charged the Assam government of carrying out a crackdown on child marriage in violation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) without first establishing the necessary laws. AIUDF was not the only group to call the Assam government’s efforts to eliminate child weddings a “farce.”
Aminul Islam, general secretary of the AIUDF, asserted that the state government has not created any rules for executing the PCMA.
“The PCMA of 2006 came into effect from 2007. Since it is a Central act, the states have to frame the rules. From 2007 to 2014, the state was under Congress rule, and since then, under BJP. Why didn’t the government of the day frame the rules?” he questioned, as reported by PTI. He alleged that the incumbent Chief Minister had been holding different departments since 2007 but did nothing then.
“It is a mere political gimmick (the recent crackdown) to divert people’s attention from real issues like the lackadaisical Union Budget, Adani’s scam, etc.,” the AIUDF legislator claimed. He said the AIUDF was opposed to child marriage even though it is permitted under certain provisions of Islam as the party views it as a social problem. “We will support the government in acting against it if everything is done as per law and procedure,” Islam added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday took a swipe at the Assam government over its crackdown against child marriages. Calling it a “farce”, Gogoi said, “It seems the police are instructed to investigate cases that are decades old without proper enquiry or adherence to procedure. It’s a farce.”
He further said that the people of the state have “completely rejected” the initiative. Gogoi also called the crackdown by the Assam government a PR exercise.
“It is a PR exercise for the Chief Minister under whose tenure – cases of mafia, crimes against women and elderly, drugs and kidnappings have increased. Police are reprimanded by high courts for failing their investigation esp in the Arnamai Bora murder case,” he wrote in his tweets.
Police have arrested 2,258 people as part of a crackdown on child marriage since Friday, with 4,074 FIRs filed against such cases. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared on Saturday that the drive will continue until the 2026 Assembly election.
However, a senior Guwahati High Court attorney who wished to remain unnamed argued that laws may be carried out without the need for rules, according to PTI.
“If the central law is broad, it can be put into effect without the need for new laws to be drafted. There are other Supreme Court decisions that support this, he claimed. The counsel continued by saying he wasn’t sure whether rules had not yet been created in the PCMA case in Assam.
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