Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari has termed the government’s move on live-in relationships in India as “wrong”.
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Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari has clarified his stand on live-in relationships in India as “wrong”.
In a recent YouTube podcast, the Union Minister was asked about her views on live-in relationships. “I went to the British Parliament in London where I met the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary and they asked me what the biggest problem was in their country. I said poverty, unemployment, hunger etc. When I asked them the same question they said. The biggest problem in European countries is the majority of young people. Don’t get married,” he said.
Gadkari further expressed concern, “How children are born, what is their future. If you destroy the social lifestyle, what effect does it have on people?”
Notably, this is not the first time that a BJP leader has opposed live-in-relationships. Earlier, BJP leader Dharamvir Singh had called for the eradication of live-in relationships, calling them a “dangerous disease”.
“Such relationships are very common in western nations but this evil is spreading fast in our society too and its consequences are dire. Recently the case of Shraddha (Walker) and Aftab (Poonawalla) came to light where both were in a live-in relationship,” Singh said in 2023. said in the Lok Sabha.
In 2022, after the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker by her live-in-partner Aftab Poonawala, the then Union Minister of State, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore remarked that “educated women are complicit. When they choose non-traditional relationships in marriage Violence happens.”
Uttarakhand’s UCC Bill recognizes live-in relationships for the first time in India
On February 6, 2024, the BJP-led Uttarakhand government made history by passing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state assembly – one of the party’s long-standing election promises.
An important highlight of the bill was the recognition of live-in relationships in India. It is important to mention that live-in relationships are not legal in India.
The UCC calls for registering a live-in relationship like a marriage. It also states that live-in partners must not be under 18 years of age. In what could be a first, the government has revealed that registration of live-ins will be possible online, according to a report in The Times of India.
In addition, the bill mentions that the parents of couples in the age group of 18 to 21 years will be informed about the live-in relationship of their children. If you live in a live-in relationship for more than one month without registration, you will be punished with imprisonment for up to three months or a fine of up to 10,000 rupees or both.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, A facility that will enable live-in and married couples to register their relationship is in the process of being introduced. UCC is not yet implemented in the state.
What is the government’s interest?
As mentioned earlier, in view of the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker by her live-in-partner Aftab Poonawala in Delhi, many concerns were raised about domestic abuse against women.
According to several media reports, another concern is that if a couple decides to have a child out of wedlock, the custody of the child may be in doubt. One of the major concerns in live-in relationships is the lack of property rights for the non-property partner. In marriage, property rights are clearly delineated.
Gen-Z Thinks, ‘Live and Let Live-In’
After the UCC was passed in the Uttarakhand Assembly, a major debate on the legality of live-in-relationships began. Some have said that this bill is a ‘violation of privacy’. While, many others are not comfortable revealing their relationship status to their family or friends.
“It allows couples to not only understand each other’s personalities but also manage finances, share household chores and navigate each other’s behavior and conflicting schedules,” says nutritionist Jiajit Kaur Sethi (23), who wants to move into a live-in relationship. As quoted by Deccan Chronicle.
“One thing between the two cases is the lack of common consent. When two adults are consenting to live-in, it should be their right. However, in the case of marital rape, even when one of the adults has not consented to intercourse, a married couple Because another person has the right to do the work,’ she said.