Gandhinagar: Amid rising instances of love marriages without parental consent, representatives of Samast Gujarat Brahm Samaj have demanded changes in Gujarat’s marriage registration rules, insisting that parental approval be made compulsory. A delegation of community leaders, led by Brahm Samaj president Shailesh Thakar, met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at the Gandhinagar Secretariat and submitted a representation on Monday.

The memorandum states that when a daughter leaves home and marries without informing the family, it affects the dignity and emotional well-being of the entire household. The community has demanded that the signatures and consent of parents be made mandatory at the time of a daughter’s marriage registration. The Brahm Samaj has also extended full support to a similar demand earlier raised by the Patidar community, stating that the issue concerns the protection of Hindu culture and the family system.

Speaking to the media, Thakar said, “Regarding marriage registration and the problems that parents face due to runaway marriages, we had earlier passed a resolution. Today, we submitted a copy of that resolution to the Chief Minister, demanding that parental consent or the involvement of parents be made compulsory in such cases, and that a law be implemented to ensure this.”

Leaders said many girls may take emotional decisions and regret them later, and parental involvement provides necessary legal and emotional protection. Along with the parental consent demand, the delegation also requested that the benefits of the 10% EWS quota be ensured up to the panchayat level, including educational, economic and political benefits. They further appealed for land allocation in Gandhinagar for community activities supporting the education and social welfare of Brahm Samaj youth.

The delegation included women’s wing president Dhariniben Shukla and youth wing president Manoj Upadhyay. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel heard the representation and assured the leaders that the government would take an appropriate decision after due consideration. DeshGujarat