Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala on Wednesday came out in support of the idea given by Khap panchayats that marriageable age limit of girls should be reduced to curb incidents of rape.
After submitting a memorandum to governor Jagannath Pahadia over recent
cases of rape in the state, Chautala slammed the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government for the "worsening" law and order situation in the state.
"Four cases of rape were reported on the very day Congress president Sonia Gandhi came to meet a rape victim in Jind district," Chautala said. When his attention was drawn towards khap panchayats' suggestion, Chautala supported the idea saying that it will help curbing such crimes against women.
Demanding a special session of Assembly to discuss over the issue, Chautala also criticised the move of giving monetary reliefs to the rape victims. Following a rise in cases of rape in Haryana, Khap panchayats had suggested to do away with the marriageable age limit, claiming it will check such crimes.
"Boys and girls should be married by the time they turn 16, so that they do not stray... this will decrease the incidents of rape," Sube Singh, a Khap representative had said. State Congress president Phool Chand Mullana had claimed that it was a conspiracy to malign the government.