AIUDF's Remarks 'Foolish', Assam Govt Need Not Make Separate Rules To Act Against Child Marriage: NCPCR Chief

NCPCR chief rubbished AIUDF's statement that Assam government did not frame rules under provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), and called it foolish.

New Delhi: Amid the crackdown on child marriage in Assam, NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo on Sunday rubbished AIUDF's statement that the Assam government did not frame rules under provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), and called it foolish. He said that the Assam government does not need to make separate rules if they are okay with the model rules. Political parties should be sensitive in cases of children, he said.

"Political parties should be sensitive in cases of children. Child Marriage Act & POCSO Act are central Acts, Assam Govt doesn't need to make separate rules if they're okay with model rules. I don't understand how silly people give political statements," NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo told news agency ANI.

Kanoongo appreciated the Assam government's initiative against adults involved in child marriage and said that other states should also take similar steps. 

"NCPCR has appreciated Assam's Govt initiative against adults involved in child marriages and we also expect other states to take similar steps. AIUDF's statement that Assam Govt didn't frame rules is foolish," Kanoongo said as quoted by ANI.

Earlier on Saturday, the AIUDF levelled allegations on the Assam government and said that the government is carrying out a crackdown on child marriage under provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) without framing the requisite rules, as reported by news agency PTI. Besides AIUDF, Congress termed the Assam government's crackdown on child marriages as a "farce".

In a crackdown on child marriage since Friday, police arrested 2,258 people so far based on 4,074 FIRs registered against such cases with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserting on Saturday that the drive will continue till the 2026 Assembly election.

A senior advocate of the Guwahati High Court, who did not wish to be named, however, maintained that laws can be implemented without framing rules, PTI reported. “If the central law is exhaustive, it can be implemented without the need for framing laws. There are many Supreme Court rulings in favour of this” he said. The advocate added that he was not certain whether rules had not been framed in the case of PCMA in Assam yet.