“Girls can reproduce at 15”: Congress leader stirs controversy after statement on girl’s marriageabl

Bhopal: A congress leader from Madhya Pradesh landed in a controversy after making a regressive comment on woman’s minimum age for marriage.

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Former PWD minister and Kamal Nath loyalist, Sajjan Singh Verma said, “When girls can reproduce at 15 years, why raise their marriageable age from 18 to 21 years.” The former minister further added, “Girls should go to their sasural (in-laws home) and be happy after they turn 18.”

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When questioned about the comments made by the minister, Congress tried to brush off the matter, with state Congress Bhupendra Gupta claiming the BJP wanted to make a fuss out of the matter.

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The situation took place after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while inaugurating “Samman”, a fortnight long public awareness drive about crimes against women, advocated for a national debate on raising the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21.