Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Sep 27: BJP central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya launched a sharp attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led government, accusing it of dragging the state into what he called a “cesspool” of child marriages, following recent data showing West Bengal has the highest rate of underage marriages in India.

Citing the Sample Registration Report released earlier this month, Malviya pointed to the alarming statistic that 6.3% of girls in West Bengal are married before turning 18, the highest rate in the country. He described the figure as a betrayal of Bengal’s progressive legacy, saying, “A Bengal that now leads India in child marriage cannot be called Vidyasagar's Bengal, nor Tagore's Bengal. It is Mamata's Bengal — and the shame is entirely hers.”

Malviya evoked the legacy of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who championed the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and fought tirelessly to abolish child marriage. “In Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal, child marriage has surged. Little girls are being denied rights, dignity, and agency, undoing the very reforms Vidyasagar fought for,” he said.

In a strongly worded social media post, Malviya claimed the current situation violates not only national laws but also undermines the spirit of the Indian Constitution. He condemned what he called the decline of Bengal’s moral and social fabric, adding that Rabindranath Tagore too would have opposed such social regression.

“‘Ma, Maati, and Maanush’ is now an empty slogan. The fall of a once-progressive Bengal, inspired by reformers and intellectuals, now lies squarely at Mamata Banerjee’s feet,” Malviya stated, adding that her politics “desecrates the memory of Bengal’s greatest heroes every single day.”

The data has triggered political outrage, with the BJP using it as fresh ammunition to attack the Trinamool Congress government, alleging administrative failure and social neglect.