Gujarat CM says, will look into issue

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday said his government is open to the idea of making parental consent mandatory in love marriages, but only “within the ambit of the Constitution”, according to a report by The Indian Express (IE). Patel made the comments at a felicitation ceremony for students at Nugar village in Mehsana district.

The chief minister said that state health minister Rushikeshbhai Patel suggested to him that the Gujarat government should take a re-look at the cases of the elopement of girls and that a study should be carried out so that something can be done to ensure parental consent in love marriages. He added that his government would study the proposal “if the Constitution does not become a hindrance”.

Besides several Patidar leaders, the event was also attended by the state’s former deputy chief minister, Nitin Patel. The event was conducted by the Sardar Patel Group (SPG), a Patidar group that led the community’s quota agitation in 2015.

Congress MLA from Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur-Khadiya constituency, Imran Khedawala, wrote to the Chief Minister on Monday to support the plan. Khedawala was quoted as saying by IE that such marriages are not a Hindu-Muslim issue but concern two families. He said that the girl’s family breaks down and cannot face society when she runs away from the house. Parents’ consent should be made compulsory as they are the ones who raise the children. There are several such cases where girls eloped against their parents’ wishes and later regretted it, the MLA added.

The chief minister’s statement came four months after Khedawala’s party colleague and MLA, Geniben Thakore, reiterated BJP legislator Fatesinh Chauhan’s demand in the Assembly for an amendment to the state’s marriage law to include parental consent.