Assam to table bill to ban polygamy in state assembly, CM Sarma says, ’Will include issue of love jihad’

The Assam government is expected to present a bill in the state assembly in December with the aim of prohibiting polygamy, which involves marrying multiple spouses.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a gathering of BJP alliance parties in Tinsukia on Saturday and informed the media that the state government intends to conclude the process of finalizing the polygamy ban bill within the next 45 days.

"A legal committee was formed to analyse whether the state government can ban polygamy or not and we have received positive thoughts. We also sought public opinions and suggestions on the proposed Bill for banning polygamy. We have received a total of 149 suggestions in response to our public notice. Out of these, 146 suggestions are in favour of the Bill and they support to ban on polygamy. However, three suggestions have expressed their opposition to banning polygamy. Our next phase is to draft the Bill," CM Sarma said.

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"We will finalize the Bill in the next 45 days. I think I will be able to introduce the Bill in the assembly in December this year", he added.

Previously, an expert committee was established to assess whether the State Legislature in Assam has the legal authority to pass a law aimed at putting an end to polygamy. The committee presented its findings to the Assam Chief Minister on August 6th of this year.

Meanwhile, CM Sharma further stated, "We will add some points in the bill in order to stop Love Jihad in the state".

Regarding the matter of repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the Assam Chief Minister stated that the state government is actively addressing this issue.

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"We will have to take the decision on whether AFSPA is to be withdrawn or not. It is a view of the state government and the the Union government will take the final view. I will discuss it with the Union government this month and towards the end of this month, a concrete decision will be taken," CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, is a legislation passed by the Indian Parliament, which confers special authority upon the Indian Armed Forces to uphold public order in regions categorized as "disturbed areas."

As per the provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act of 1976, once an area is declared as "disturbed," it must retain its current status for a minimum period of three months.

AFSPA is in place in eight districts of Assam now after his government came to power, said Sarma while speaking in his Independence Day speech in Guwahati.

On July 31, Sarma had alleged that the north-east region has suffered from “geographical isolation, political instability and imbalanced development" for 70 years due to the previous “Congress governments’ intentional ploys to divide and rule".

He had also claimed that several conflicts in the region that lasted for 70 years were resolved in nine years of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

(With inputs from agencies)