Assam Child Marriage Crackdown: Rules Not Framed, Says AIUDF. Cong's Gaurav Gogoi Calls Drive A 'Farce'

The AIUDF alleged that Assam government is carrying out a crackdown on child marriage under provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) without framing the requisite rules.

New Delhi: The AIUDF on Saturday 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, the Congress termed the Assam government's crackdown on child marriages as a "farce".

AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam claimed that rules for implementing the (PCMA) have not been framed by the state government. “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.

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.