‘Govt must focus on awareness instead’

With Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government stating that the ongoing drive against child marriages will be intensified, the Opposition termed the exercise as a “political stunt” with a “communal design”

Days after the Gauhati High Court observed that the crackdown on child marriages in Assam created “havoc in the private life of people”, a cross-section of society on Sunday appealed to the state government to look at it from a humane angle and focus more on creating awareness to end the social evil.

With Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government stating that the ongoing drive against child marriages will be intensified, the Opposition termed the exercise as a “political stunt” with a “communal design”.

“The court is absolutely right that arrest is not mandatory in child marriage cases. Filing of a charge sheet timely and creating awareness are two prime actions that will act as deterrents in future,” senior advocate Angshuman Bora told PTI.

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Social scientist Pallavi Deka opined the HC observations at this juncture have brought some new perspective to the matter as it has put a question mark on the necessity of invoking POCSO and Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with punishment for rape, in such cases.

Deka, the assistant professor of Political Science at Handique Girls’ College, said that such a clampdown was again pushing these vulnerable women further to the margins. Three days after the HC made the observations, the CM said Assam will intensify the crackdown. 

“Sarma was the education and health minister in both Congress and BJP tenures. What did he do to stop child marriage and create awareness?” asked Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah.

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