‘Teenage mother died because…’: Gaurav Gogoi slams Assam's crackdown on child marriage
A 16-year-old pregnant married girl died while she was on her way to hospital in Assam's Bongaigaon district, ANI reported.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Friday hit out at Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for the crackdown on child marriage in the state after a 16-year-old pregnant married girl died while she was on her way to hospital in Bongaigaon district.
"This innocent girl's death is at the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma whose foolish step has led to pregnant teenagers avoiding hospitals for childbirth. The infant is without a mother and the father is in jail," Gogoi tweeted.
On Thursday, the Assam cabinet complimented police for its campaign against child marriage, and further directed it to continue with the clampdown.
The Congress MP also claimed that girls under 18, who are pregnant, are choosing to deliver their child at home, not going to the hospitals because they are afraid of getting their fathers and husbands arrested.
“Today, we got to know a teenage mother died because she bled to death due to complications during childbirth in the absence of community and ASHA workers. Even ordinary families feel that ASHA workers will report the matter to the government and local police,” news agency ANI quoted Gogoi as saying.
The state cabinet also formed a sub-committee to finalise a rehabilitation policy within 15 days for victims of child marriage, ANI reported. The decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting held in Guwahati.
The state government will take a decision after the submission of the report by the committee.
So far, the Assam Police has arrested 2,763 people in connection with the cases related to child marriage across the state.
"Our crackdown against child marriage continues... The drive against this social evil will continue. We seek the support of the people of Assam in our fight against this social crime," Sarma tweeted.
He had earlier this week justified the measures and said nearly 17 per cent of over 6.2 lakh pregnant women in Assam last year were teenagers, according to the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal.
(With inputs from agencies)
