Even as the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh recently passed a Bill increasing the marriageable age of women to 21 years from 18 years, State Congress president Pratibha Singh on Friday said she was “unaware” of the legislation before it was brought in the Assembly.
The State government’s move is significant as the Congress had in 2021 opposed ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill’, introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Centre’s Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government that aimed to raise the minimum age of marriage for women to 21.
“The party unit was unaware of the Bill before it was introduced and passed in the State Assembly. However, I am yet to go through the legislation. I am not sure if it is different or similar to the Bill that was a few years ago introduced in the Lok Sabha. I will go through it once and then comment,” Ms. Singh told The Hindu over the phone.
Ms. Singh, when asked about the lack of coordination between the party and the government, however, dismissed it, saying: “There’s no lack of coordination between the State government and the State unit of the party.”
The Congress and the government in the State went through a political crisis earlier this year against the backdrop of factionalism amid a power tussle between rival camps of Ms. Singh, who is the widow of former Chief Minister, late Virbhadra Singh, and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
On August 27, the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment), Bill 2024 was passed in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. The Bill states: “In today’s world, the women are progressing in every field. Early marriages, however, act as a hindrance not only in the progress of their career but also in their physical development. In order to provide for gender equality and opportunities of obtaining higher education, it has become necessary to increase the minimum age of marriage for the girls. Thus, it is proposed to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and other related Acts in their application to the State of Himachal Pradesh and increase the minimum age for marriage for girls to 21 years.”
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur took a dig at the Congress stating that while the BJP has always been in favour of increasing the marriageable age of women to 21 years, the move has exposed the chinks within the Congress party in Himachal.
“The factionalism within the Congress is known to everyone. The party’s State president stating that she was unaware about the Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill before it was introduced, yet again makes it clear that there’s no communication and understanding between the government and the party unit. This will eventually have adverse effect on running the State,” the BJP leader and former CM said.
Published - August 31, 2024 03:37 am IST
