Chautala backs Khap marriage age idea

Former chief minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala on Wednesday backed the Khap panchayat suggestion to reduce marriage age of girls to 16 to curb rapes.

Drawing a parallel between the situation in Haryana and the Mughal era,he said,During that period,people used to get their daughters married at a very early age fearing somebody will abduct them. A similar situation prevails in the state. Teenage girls are being gangraped and the government is doing nothing. I have seen young girls getting married due to this fear. In such a situation,if Khaps have suggested lowering the marriage age of girls,I think it is correct.

He submitted a memorandum to Governor Jagannath Pahadia on the increasing incidents of rape and demanded dismissal of the Congress government. Four cases of rape were reported on the day when Sonia Gandhi came to meet the family of a rape victim in Jind. Law and order no longer exists in the state and the government is sleeping, he said.

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The Indian National Lok Dal leader demanded a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issue.

Monetary relief to rape victims or their kin is nothing but an attempt to rub their wounds, he said.

Meanwhile,Khap leaders reiterated their stand on lowering the marriage age of girls. Randhir Singh,a Khap leader,said,When girls attain puberty and boys grow young,their sexual needs are not fulfilled. So they get involved in unlawful activities. There should not be any cap on marriage age, he said.

Earlier,the Khap suggestion was ridiculed by Congress leaders,with Sonia Gandhi saying that law vests with the judiciary and nobody else.