Kolkata, Sep 30 (IANS): West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday expressed concern over the high incidence of child marriage and underage motherhood in the state, asserting that his government is committed to eliminating the menace.
“West Bengal is competing with Jammu and Kashmir for the top position in two areas. The first is the number of girls getting married before they attain the age of 18, and the second is the number of girls becoming pregnant and mothers before turning 18. This trend is deeply concerning. The state must be completely freed from this social evil, and our government is determined to achieve this at any cost,” the Chief Minister said.
He was addressing a function on Wednesday afternoon to mark the 2027th birth anniversary, according to the Bengali calendar, of iconic educationist and social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
The function was organised at Bissingha village in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, the birthplace of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
Earlier this month, the Chief Minister had announced that, henceforth, husbands would be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, in cases where their wives become mothers before attaining the age of 18.
Following his announcement, the state police have already begun taking action against family members of minors who become pregnant or mothers before attaining the age of 18.
Reiterating the warning on Wednesday, Adhikari said the state administration would adopt a “zero tolerance” approach towards preventing child marriages and minors from becoming mothers before attaining the age of 18.
Speaking on the occasion, he also criticised the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, particularly over the alleged practice of making state-run libraries keep books authored by Banerjee.
“I will ask the authorities of the libraries in the state to stop keeping those books and instead keep books written by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar there,” the CM said.
The Chief Minister also said that because of the flawed policies of the previous state government, West Bengal had been lagging behind other states in two crucial areas of education and health.
“We have to improve the situation at any cost, and the new government is determined to take all necessary steps to achieve this,” Adhikari added.
