Guwahati, Sep 19 (IANS): Reacting on the crackdown on child marriages in the state, the Assam assembly Deputy Speaker Numal Momin on Tuesday said that the minimum age for a girl to get married must be 21 years.

He said that the Assam government is committed to cracking down on the societal scourge and stopping child marriage at all costs.

Momin praised the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for adopting the strong move of initiating a crackdown on child marriages every six months.

"I believe the minimum cut-off age for a girl to get married should be 21," he said.

"Fake clerics frequently approach the matter solely from a religious perspective. They are heavily involved in such crimes,” Momin said.

He said that the government will introduce a strong statute to combat social evil in the state.

In February this year, the Assam Police arrested around 5,000 persons, including 15 clergy for their alleged involvement in child marriages.

The Assam Chief Minister had said that 'major arrests' are probably going to happen at the upcoming drive, which will take place later this month. In addition, he hoped that by 2026 child marriage will be completely eradicated from the state.

The Chief Minister added that fund has been set aside for the campaign in the amount of Rs 200 crores, adding that this money will be used to designate a special advocate in each case of child marriage.