By Express News Service
BHOPAL: A day after ex-MP minister and senior Congress MLA Sajjan Singh Verma made a controversial remark about girls’ marriageable age, the BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has responded with objectionable remarks about Verma’s parents.
“Sanskaron ki kami ke karan is prakaar ke bayaan aate hain, ab sanskar unke maa-baap mein nahi diye toh voh bechare kripa ke patra hai, unke upar dayaa karni chaahiye. Ab unko maa-baap hi aise mile toh kya kar sakte hain. Achche maa baap ho toh achche sanskar milte hain. (Such statements are made due to lack of values, if good values were not ingrained in him by his parents, then he is eligible for grace and pity. One gets good values from good parents),” Vijayvargiya told journalists in Indore on Thursday, when asked about Verma’s remarks.
Reacting to Vijayvargiya’s remarks about Verma’s parents, state Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja condemned the BJP leader for his objectionable remarks about Verma’s dead parents.
Sharing a video of Vijayvargiya’s remarks on the Twitter, Saluja wrote “he (Vijayvargiya) shouldn’t have made such low level remarks about Verma’s dead parents, just because Verma made some controversial comments. Making such remarks about Verma’s dead parents doesn’t make Vijayvargiya cultured.”
Importantly, bitter political rivalry between BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya and Congress’s Sajjan Singh Verma (both belonging to Indore) is well known. The state Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja also hails from Indore .
On Wednesday, Verma, the former MP PWD minister had kicked up a political storm by by saying that when the girls are capable of bearing children at 15 years age, then why talk about increasing their marriageable age from 18 to 21 years.
Verma, a staunch loyalist of ex-CM Kamal Nath, had made the controversial statement in response to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s recent call to have a national debate on raising the minimum marriageable age for girls from 18 years to 21 years.
“Any girl is capable of reproduction at 15 years of age, this is not my finding, but this as per doctors’ report that girls are suitable for reproduction/bearing children at 15 years of age. Owing to it only, a girl is considered mature enough for marriage at minimum 18 years of age,” said Verma.
Verma didn’t stop at it only, but added “girls should go to their sasural (in-laws home) and be happy after they turn 18.”
Making light of the CM’s recent statements, the ex-MP PWD minister questioned, “Is he (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) a scientist or a great doctor that he is batting for increasing the minimum marriageable age for girls from 18 years to 21 years.”
Within few hours of his controversial remarks about girls, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to Verma over his controversial statement made about marriageable age of girls.
“It has been mentioned therein that you’ve stated that when minor girls starting from the age of 15 years become capable of reproducing a child, then why is there a need to increase the present prescribed minimum age of 18 years to 21 years for marriage of girls,” the two page notice read.
“Hence, in pursuance to the functions assigned to the Commission under Section 13(1)(c) and (k) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, you’re requested to provide an explanation within two days of the issue this letter, giving reasons and justifying your intention for making such discriminatory statement against minor girls and law of land on public platform,” the notice added.