Two days after MP (Lok Sabha) and scion of the Nehru family, Rahul Gandhi, talked about women's empowerment at an event of Mahila Congress in Delhi, the Congress government of Rajasthan passed a bill to register child marriages in the state.
Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Congress leader Shanti Dhariwal defended the law, saying the action will be taken against the organisers of the marriage after registering the marriage.
But he did not explain why the organiser would register the marriage if he would be punished later.
The new provision has been included in the Compulsory Registration of Marriages amendment bill.
"The bill reflects the double standards of state government. When all the countries are trying to eradicate child marriages, the Rajasthan government is virtually making an effort to promote them. This is just to please the Jati Panches, which are the vote banks for the part," The New Indian Express quoted Dr. Kriti Bharti, the managing director of Saarthi Trust in Jodhpur.
Ignoring the BJP's demand for voting, the bill was passed by the voice vote.
