The state government has set up a committee to gather information on the inter-faith and inter-caste marriage couples and maternal families of women involved if they are estranged. The panel head and state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said the move is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Shraddha Walkar case
Sachin Sawant. File Pic
Congress on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government's decision to form a panel on issues of women in inter-faith and inter-caste marriages is a political agenda and a perfect example of how not to run a government.
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The state government has set up a committee to gather information on the inter-faith and inter-caste marriage couples and maternal families of women involved if they are estranged. The panel head and state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said the move is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Shraddha Walkar case.
"This decision is part of a political agenda of the state government. This amounted to putting a strain on the state administration at the cost of the taxpayers' money to further a political agenda," state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant tweeted.
He said then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced on March 15, 2017, that legislation will be enacted to protect those opting for inter-caste marriages and incumbent minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha was part of that committee.
"What happened to that committee? Will the present committee protect couples in interfaith and inter-caste marriages or spy on them and prevent them from getting married? All this should be made clear," he said.
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Sawant alleged the BJP was politicising the unfortunate death of Shradha Walkar who was in a live-in relationship (with her alleged killed Aaftab Poonawala) but the present committee concerns only married couples.
The Congress spokesperson wondered whether the government had data on the number of inter-caste and inter-faith marriages taking place in Maharashtra and how many families need counselling.
"Lodha says only women in inter-caste and inter-faith marriages face problems but it may happen to women who are in marriages of the same caste. Isn't this decision a violation of the right to marry for adults?" he asked.
Sawant said whether parents or the couples would be counselled.
"The state government provides grants to couples of inter-caste marriages. Isn't the new decision a violation of the previous decision? This is the perfect example of how not to run a government," he said.
Sawant said the Parliament had passed the Special Marriages Act in 1954 to encourage inter-caste and inter-faith marriages and even the Supreme Court has said such marriages be accepted.
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