Gopal Shetty

Hadiya

BJP

Lok Sabha

Special Marriage Act

RSS

Rajya Sabha MP

Only 14 such bills converted into law

had introduced pvt member’s bill in LS, seeking to raise age of marriage to 21 for women whose parents have not consented to the union.The Supreme Court upheld Hadiya’s marriage to Shaf in Jahan on Thursday in the Kerala ‘love jihad’ case, enabling her to finally live with her husband. Perhaps alarmed at the prospect of more 18-year-old women being inspired byand choosing their husbands themselves, theMP from North Mumbai introduced a private member’s bill in theon Thursday, seeking to raise the age at which a woman can marry – if the marriage does not have her parents’ consent.MP Gopal Shetty introduced the private member’s bill on Friday, seeking amendments to Section 4 of the, 1954, to raise the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 if the adult woman is marrying without her parent’s consent. However, Shetty feels there should be no change in the marriage age if the union is taking place with the consent of the adult woman’s parents.Opposition parties and activists have slammed the move, saying it exposes the ruling BJP’s regressive mindset.Speaking to Mirror, Shetty said, “Boys and girls fall in love at 15 and 16, get married at the age of 18, as soon as they become majors, against the wishes of their parents. At this age, they still don’t understand the difference between infatuation and love.”“Many of these early age marriages later turn sour, and result in divorce and other complications,” Shetty said. “To avoid this social menace, I introduced the bill.”Activists slammed both Shetty’s bill, and his justification for it. Anagha Sarpotdar, a researcher on women’s issues, said, “This bill is the result of the pet fear ofand BJP about ‘love Jihad’. They constantly fear that men from other religions, especially Muslims, are on the prowl to seduce Hindu girls, marry and convert them.”Sarpotdar said Shetty was questioning the ability of women to make decisions about their own lives. “In a conservative society, women are supposed to leave decisions about their marriage to elders,” she said.Scholar and activist Hari Narke added, “This bill has brought out the psyche of the RSS and other such organisations who want to dictate what we should wear, what we should eat, and who we should marry,” Narke said.Vandana Chavan, afrom NCP, said, “This is a completely regressive bill. In the name of protecting the institution of family, you are taking away the right of women to make their own choices.”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A private member’s bill may be introduced in Parliament by members of the legislature other than ministers, who may or may not belong to the ruling party. Normally, after a reply from the minister of the concerned department is given, the member withdraws the bill, and it is rarely put to vote. In 68 years of India’s parliamentary history, only 14 private member’s bills have been converted into actual law.In 2016, the Lok Sabha had voted against the introduction of a private member’s bill, the Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2016, by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, seeking to amend Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises homosexuality.