Lok Sabha
The Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh affirmed in the Lok Sabha today that the National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the External Affairs Ministry to issue instructions to all embassies to ensure that `Muttah’ or short term marriages are stopped totally and those indulging in such practices are dealt with strictly.
The Minister further said that Indian Diplomatic Missions in Gulf Countries do check visa applications to ascertain the genuineness of the intended purpose of the visit. Recently they have been once again instructed to keep a close watch on this issue. The Embassies of the countries of the Gulf region in India have also been appraised of this matter.
The Ministry of External Affairs also suggested to the National Commission for Women that it would be useful to encourage NGOs working in this field to play a parallel, active role, especially in States where there is a large incidence of `Muttah’ marriages.
Shri Singh was replying to a question by Shri Kinjarapu Yerrannaidu.
(Release ID :3467)