Women should embrace motherhood at appropriate age : Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Saturday said women should embrace motherhood at the "appropriate age" as it otherwise leads to medical complications. Speaking at a government function here, Sarma iterated his government's commitment to stop underage marriages and motherhood.
His comments come in the backdrop of the state government deciding to bring stringent laws and evoking the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to check child marriages and underage motherhood.
"Thousands of husbands will be arrested in the next five-six months as it is a crime to have sexual relations with a girl below 14 years of age, even if he is her legally wed husband," Sarma said.
The legal age for the marriage of a woman is 18 years and those who marry younger girls will also be brought to book. "Many (men who marry girls) could face life imprisonment," he said.
Speaking about motherhood, Sarma said, "Women should not wait too long to become mothers as it leads to complications. The appropriate age for motherhood is 22 years to 30 years".
Women who have not married yet should do it soon, he said with a smile.
"We have been speaking against early motherhood. But at the same time, women should not wait too long either as many do ... God has created our bodies in a manner that there is an appropriate age for everything," he added.
The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years of age under the POCSO Act. Those who marry girls in the age group of 14-18 years will be tried under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The decision was taken to curb the high rate of maternal and infant mortality in the state, whose primary cause is child marriage, Sarma had said after the cabinet meeting.
An average of 31 per cent of the marriages in the state are in the prohibited age group, he said.
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Lebanon pager blasts: Police verify Keralite's background; BJP leader demands his protection
Wayanad (Kerala) (PTI): Amid reports linking Rinson Jose, a Kerala native settled in Norway, to the probe into recent pager blasts in Lebanon, the Kerala police on Sunday confirmed a background check on his family, while a BJP leader referred to him as a "son of our nation" and demanded "protection."
"There is no case or investigation. Our special branch officials have carried out a background check. There is nothing new in it; such checks are conducted whenever similar news reports emerge," a police officer told PTI.
Another police official said that a "precautionary patrol" has been launched in the area near Mananthavady where his family resides following the reports. He said that his family has not requested police protection.
Rinson, who went abroad for a job a decade ago, is now a Norwegian citizen.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sandeep G Varier called for protection for Rinson and his family.
"He is the son of our nation. He is a Malayali. At any cost, we must provide protection to Rinson and his family," Varier, a state committee member of the BJP, said in a Facebook post.
A relative of Rinson has said that he learned about the incident through the media.
His maternal uncle, Thankachan, said, "He grew up here in Wayanad and studied both here and outside Kerala. After completing his MBA, he left India 10 years ago. He had been studying abroad before joining a company. As far as we know, he is currently working for a company in Norway."
Rinson last visited Kerala in November of last year and left in January.
"We are not sure whether he runs his own business in Norway. His wife also works in Norway," Thankachan had told the media.
He said Rinson had called them two or three days before the news reports about him emerged.
"We are 100 per cent certain that he would not commit any wrongdoing," Thankachen had said.
He also appealed to the media not to put the family in a difficult position.
Asked about reports concerning a shell company being investigated by Norwegian authorities in connection with the Pager blasts, Thankachan responded, "Sorry, I have no information about that."
A neighbour of Rinson's family added, "There is nothing bad to say about him or his family. To us, their reputation is spotless.
